India denies rift with Lanka over bombed ship

COLOMBO, AUG 20: India today denied any rift with Sri Lanka over yesterday's last minute decision by the local naval officials to questio...

COLOMBO, AUG 20: India today denied any rift with Sri Lanka over yesterday’s last minute decision by the local naval officials to question the captain and his deputy of the Indian Merchant Vessel which was destroyed by Air Force fighter planes a week ago after it was hijacked by the LTTE.

Stating that the incident has not damaged the relations between the two countries in any way, an Indian High Commission spokesman here said Captain B N Karkera and first officer, Romesh Singh were off loaded from the Chennai-bound Indian Airlines plane for interrogation in view of the last minute decision by the Sri Lankan naval officials to question them.

“Had they requested us earlier for such a meeting we would have arranged it in the High Commission. But their request came only after the two along with 15 other rescued crew men left for airport,” he said adding that naval officials questioned the two for routine information about the incident in the presence of Indian officials.

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Fifteen other Indian crew men leftin that flight. The captain and his deputy were sent by Air Lanka flight to Chennai four hours later.

The 17 men were released by the LTTE on August 18 through International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) after a four day captivity. They were directly handed over by the ICRC officials to the Indian High Commission as demanded by the LTTE.

The spokesman said the naval officials wanted to speak to the captain as they have not recorded the version of the crew after the ship was hijacked.

The questioning of the captain by the naval officials assumed significance as the Sri Lankan government while justifying the bombing of the ship on August 14 cast aspersions on his conduct and indirectly charged that he was conniving with the LTTE.

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Capt Karkera, before his departure to Chennai yesterday denied all allegations and said that his ship was taken over by the LTTE on August 13 night itself and since then it was under the control of the rebels. He said he was kept on the deck of the ship till minutes before thefighter planes bombed the vessel.

“It was a narrow escape,” he said.

Meanwhile, defence officials here said that a comprehensive inquiry into the seizure of the ship and its subsequent bombing was continuing.