The Okha marine police located fishing boat named Barkat on Wednesday off the coast of Samiyani Island after it was reported stolen from Navadra harbour in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district on Sunday. Additionally, the police detained boat’s operator, 21-year-old Jamnagar City resident fisherman Afghal alias Abhzal Sanghar.
“In a coastal area, if a boat is stolen, it becomes a serious issue given the fact that previously a boat was stolen from this area and was used by terrorists. We had also got inputs from Gandhinagar about it and the Okha marine police nabbed him,” said Nitish Pandey, superintendent of police (SP) of Devbhumi Dwarka district.
Pandey said that Sanghar works as a crew on board fishing boats operating from Navadra. “Besides stealing the boat, Sanghar stole a portable engine and two cans of fuel from some other boats in Navadra. He went on a fishing trip, thinking he would get more money by fishing alone. His intention was to change the colour of the boat to try and change its identity,” the SP said. The stolen boat was not registered with the government, he added.
The operators of 23 fishing boats were detained by the Kalyanpur police in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district on Wednesday for allegedly going on fishing trips without registering online with the government. The Devbhumi Dwarka police stated in an official statement that during checking drive by various teams from the neighbourhood Crime Branch and Special Operations Group at Navadra Harbour, operators of 23 boats were discovered to have sailed without proper authorization from the government. There were 23 different FIRs filed against them.