Indian police searched an Italian vessel on Saturday to recover guns used by two Italian soldiers accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the country's southern coast. The soldiers who were deployed on the Italian-flagged oil tanker Enrika Lexie as security guards were arrested and escorted off the vessel last week after they allegedly shot dead the fishermen when they mistook them for pirates.
The oil tanker is currently docked at the Cochin port, 220 kilometres (137 miles) from Kerala's capital city, Thiruvananthapuram. "We are searching the ship to recover the weapons used to kill the two Indian fishermen on the high seas," investigating officer M.R. Ajithkumar told AFP.
The search was carried in the presence of Italian government defence officials who arrived at the port on Saturday, Ajithkumar said. He added that the weapons and documents seized from the ship will be submitted as evidence in court proceedings. India has demanded that the Italian soldiers be tried for murder but Italy says the men must be given immunity as the killings took place in international waters.
Italy's defence ministry earlier said the Indian fishing crew behaved aggressively and were repeatedly warned before any shots were fired. The Italian tanker was sailing to Egypt from Singapore. But the owner of the Indian fishing vessel said the soldiers on board the Italian ship fired at the boat "without provocation," killing the two unarmed men aged 50 and 21. Ships now frequently employ armed guards for protection as vessels sailing off the coast of Somalia and across the Indian Ocean have been seized by pirates who often demand huge ransoms for the crews' safe release.
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