Coast guard dismisses BK Loshali for ‘blow up Pak boat’ remark

New Delhi, Dec. 14 : Following an inquiry, the Indian Coast Guard on Monday dismissed BK Loshali from service for his remarks over the explosion of a Pakistani boat off the coast of Gujarat in 2014.

Loshali’s comments contradicted the government’s stand over the blowing up of the fishing boat.

The statement by the Ministry of Defence said that the suspects had attempted to flee before ultimately setting their vessel on fire, which resulted in an explosion. Ultimately, the boat burnt and sank in the early hours of January 1. None of the people on board could be saved and the material could not be recovered.

According to a leading national daily, Loshali had ordered officers following a suspicious Pakistani vessel in the Arabian Sea to ‘blow the boat off’, thus contradicting the government’s claim that it had exploded under suspicious circumstances.

The Coast Guard had intercepted the vessel on December 31st 2014 near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary, which lies approximately 365 kilometres away from Porbandar.

Loshali had later claimed that he had been misquoted and said the Pakistani boat actually set itself on fire and sunk.

“I was there at Surat for the launch of IB 421. And I mentioned that with the induction of these IBs, our coastal security mechanism will be strengthened further. At the same width, I mentioned that no international element will be allowed to breach our coastal security and we are not going to serve them biryanis. The operations are classified in nature. I have been misquoted. The boat had actually set itself on fire and sunk,” Loshali told the media. (ANI)