Ship carrying Pakistanis, Iraqis detained off at Indian coast

New Delhi, Dec 27, IRNA - An unidentified ship carrying over 25 Pakistani and Iraqi nationals on board has been detained off the coast of Lakshadweep by security agencies after it illegally entered Indian waters.

The ship had sailed into the waters and was cruising towards an unknown destination when it was challenged by the Coast Guard and the Navy. It has been anchored off the Lakshadweep coast.

The initial suspicion was that it could have been moving towards the Maldives, which, according to Indian intelligence, is now being preferred by terror groups based in Pakistan, pti reported Sunday quoting sources.

However, the sources did not rule out that it could have been moving towards any of the unoccupied islands in Lakshadweep or Daman and Diu areas.

However, the picture would be clear once the people on board the ship were questioned by the central security agencies, the Coast Guard and the Navy, the sources added.

Sources privy to the interrogation of the foreign nationals said they were not forthcoming in giving out details about their voyage. The ship has been anchored off Kavaratty, the capital of Lakshwadeep.

In a bid to take on piracy, a new Coast Guard (CG) headquarters and a station were inaugurated by Defence Minister A K Antony at Lakshadweep chain of islands two days ago, on December 24.

The ship was being thoroughly searched and a special team was being rushed from Delhi to carry out the searches as well as to interrogate the crew of the ship, they added.

The sources did not divulge as to when the ship was detained.

The Lakshadweep chain of islands have witnessed recent piracy attempts on cargo ships in and around its waters, as 14 incidents were reported from here in the last one year./end