Indian DIG who confessed to destroying Pakistani boat to face court martial
Coast Guard DIG Loshali was caught on tape boasting about blowing up the boat
Indian Coast Guard officer BK Loshali. SCREEN GRAB
Indian authorities are preparing to initiate court martial proceedings against Indian Coast Guard Deputy Inspector General BK Loshali from September, nearly six months after he admitted to blowing up a Pakistani fishing boat.
The move comes after a board of inquiry indicted Loshali on May 3 after he contradicted the government’s version of events that all four crew members of the “terror” boat had been killed after they blew it up themselves following a high speed chase to avoid arrest, The Times of India reported.
Read: Indian inquiry board indicts coast guard official for admitting to blowing up Pakistani boat
The board was constituted in February after it found the coast guard’s response to a show cause notice ‘unsatisfactory’. The notice was issued after he revealed in a video he had ordered to blow up the boat off the Porbander coast.
Rejecting his stance, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and the Coast Guard consistently held the aforementioned stance relating to the interception of the boat on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.
In his admittance, Loshali had said, "Let me tell you. I hope you remember 31st December night. We blew off that Pakistan... We have blown them off. I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don't want to serve them biryani."
Read: Pakistani fishermen blow up own boat after India navy chase: Indian defence ministry
On February 18, the DIG backtracked on his claims, saying he was misquoted. “I do not subscribe to the report. I have not made this statement. The operation was not being handled by me. I was not privy to it completely. I reiterate the boat set herself on fire and was not sunk by coast guard.”
Loshali was subsequently removed as the Chief of Staff in Northwest region and attached to Coast Guard's zonal headquarters after the inquiry board of Inquiry was constituted.
Read: Pakistan rejects India's allegations about 'so-called terror boat': FO
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam had responded to the incident, saying, “Remaining shrouded in mystery since day one, the drama of the so-called terror boat is now unfolding. The latest Indian media reports actually confirmed our findings.”
Further, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said the incident tore off India’s veil of being a peaceful country of the region.
The move comes after a board of inquiry indicted Loshali on May 3 after he contradicted the government’s version of events that all four crew members of the “terror” boat had been killed after they blew it up themselves following a high speed chase to avoid arrest, The Times of India reported.
Read: Indian inquiry board indicts coast guard official for admitting to blowing up Pakistani boat
The board was constituted in February after it found the coast guard’s response to a show cause notice ‘unsatisfactory’. The notice was issued after he revealed in a video he had ordered to blow up the boat off the Porbander coast.
Rejecting his stance, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and the Coast Guard consistently held the aforementioned stance relating to the interception of the boat on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.
In his admittance, Loshali had said, "Let me tell you. I hope you remember 31st December night. We blew off that Pakistan... We have blown them off. I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don't want to serve them biryani."
Read: Pakistani fishermen blow up own boat after India navy chase: Indian defence ministry
On February 18, the DIG backtracked on his claims, saying he was misquoted. “I do not subscribe to the report. I have not made this statement. The operation was not being handled by me. I was not privy to it completely. I reiterate the boat set herself on fire and was not sunk by coast guard.”
Loshali was subsequently removed as the Chief of Staff in Northwest region and attached to Coast Guard's zonal headquarters after the inquiry board of Inquiry was constituted.
Read: Pakistan rejects India's allegations about 'so-called terror boat': FO
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam had responded to the incident, saying, “Remaining shrouded in mystery since day one, the drama of the so-called terror boat is now unfolding. The latest Indian media reports actually confirmed our findings.”
Further, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said the incident tore off India’s veil of being a peaceful country of the region.