New Delhi: In the latest disclosure on ‘Pak terror boat' which sank off the Gujarat Coast, the Indian agencies have revealed that although the boat sank on Jan 1 and its occupants drowned before burning it, their two satellite phones continued to remain active till January 4.
According to technical agencies the two Thuraya satellite numbers were about 8km apart in the Arabian Sea on the morning of December 30. The two numbers, by the evening of the same day, were found at the same location.
At that time only, the second boat that probably came from near Sri Lanka, transferred cargo to the suspected ‘Pak terror boat', the one that burnt later on. The two satellite numbers then drifted apart.
The suspected terror boat was then later on noticed by the Coast Guard and in a hot pursuit by ICGS Rajratan, it sank around 365km from Porbandar early on January 1.
However, the satellite phone, being monitored by NTRO (National Technical Research Organization) continued to remain operational even after the incident.
Intercepts showed that the boat that came from Sri Lanka side, may have handed over the cargo and Rs 6 lakh for one Shehzad in Pakistan. This boat got caught in bad weather after the transaction. On January 2, those on board this boat told to a Thai contact that they were tired of removing water collected on the boat because of bad weather.
During their conversation, they also spoke about the cargo being handed over, the bad weather and the nearest shoreline, India. When the Thai handler told them to proceed to India, the boat occupants refused.
In their entire conversation, there was no mention of the other boat having gone up in flames or any hot pursuit by the coast guard.
According to NTRO, the two satellite phones were being monitored since last couple of months. They were in regular touch with a mobile number in Thailand and another number in UAE, during most of this time.
NTRO duly alerted the Coast Guard also about this expected mid-sea transaction.
Apart from NTRO, one more Indian agency who was monitoring the two suspected numbers had also come to the same conclusion that the two numbers were part of a smuggling racket. It, too, alerted the Coast Guard on December 31 morning about their possible movement in seas near international maritime boundary of India, as there were indications that a major transaction was plotted.
