Malta tragedy: Ship captain arrested

Talking to mediapersons here, Khera said that the arrest had been made possible because of the recent visit by the probe panel to Greece, Malta, Italy, Switzerland and other European countries. He said the panel had succeeded in creating public opinion in Europe and Asian countries against the tragedy, because of which criminal cases had been reopened against the mafia and conspirators.

Khera said that even Italy, which had previously been denying the incident involving the death of as many as 300 people, had now issued arrest warrants against 13 persons involved in the tragedy. He said that Turab Ahmed Sheikh, a Pakistani married to a Maltese woman, had admitted during police interrogation that he had arranged the crew for the boat and had also directed the crew on the phone till it sank.

The probe commission chairman urged the Union government to avail itself of services of Interpol and to bring Turab Ahmed and the captain to India for judicial trial. Khera also said that a case had been registered in the International Court of Justice, at Hague, The Netherlands, in this connection. To seek claims for the bereaved families, a petition would be filed before the International Tribunal at Luxembourg, he added.

Khera said that Tana de Julueta, the convenor of anti-racist forum based in Italy, would be organising an international conference in Naples, Italy, in June next, in which the commission would also participate.