New Delhi: Coast Guard DIG BK Loshali has denied media reports that he ordered to blow up the suspect Pakistani terror boat on the night of December 31.
Loshali, in a written statement, clarified that the reported operation was not being handled by him and the media report quoting him was not factual.
"Whatever has been reported... is not factual and I do not subscribe to the text. I have not made this statement. However, I had made the statement that anti-national elements do not need to be served biryani and to be handled as per the law. As a matter of fact, the operation was not being handled by me and was spearheaded by Commander, Coast Guard Region (NW) and ops team being classified in nature, I was not privy to it completely. I reiterate the boat set herself on fire and was not sunk by the Coast Guard," BK Loshali has said in his statement.
Earlier, media reports had quoted Deputy Inspector General of the Coast Guard as claiming that it was the Coast Guard which blew up the Pakistani boat on that night and that he was the one who ordered, “Blow the boat off…We don't want to serve them biryani…”
This was in direct conflict with what was claimed by the government at the time of incident that the suspect boat had ‘blown itself up under suspicious circumstances'.
On January 5, after the picture of the incident were treleased by the Coast Guard, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said, “A normal boat, even carrying some drugs, can throw away their drugs and surrender. No one is going to be killing himself unless you are motivated enough to do that… As per our information, the boat was under our surveillance for over 12 hours — probably for more than a day — stationed there in one position… (I am) not speculating that it had explosives, but it had some activity in mind that does not fit the description of a smuggling boat. Which smuggler would commit suicide?”
