By IANS,
Kochi : A division bench of the Kerala High Court Monday extended by a day the detention of Italian ship Enrica Lexie, involved in the shooting of two Indian fishermen.
The detention of the ship was to end Monday evening. But after hearing the petition filed by the family of the two killed Indian fishermen, the court ordered that the ship should not leave before Tuesday evening.
The court also came down heavily on the ship and said that the bank guarantee furnished by them of Rs.2.5 million was very low. It asked the ship authorities as to why they were acting like this as there was an insurance cover waiting to be revoked if need be.
Counsel for the Italian ship argued that it was not fair to keep the ship waiting because its losses were mounting as it had stayed put in Kochi since Feb 15.
A court in Kollam, 150 km from here, last Thursday extended the police custody of Italian Marines Latorre Massimillano and Salvatore Girone, after police sought more time for interrogation. The next hearing on the custody will be on Feb 28.
In a related development, Kerala Police Monday brought before the Kollam Chief Judicial Magistrate Sony Thomas Varghese, the four boxes which contained the weapons used by the Italian Marines to shoot down the two Indian fishermen.
Taking note of the weapons, the magistrate ordered the weapons to be given for detailed forensic examination. They have been sent to the state capital where the forensic department is located.
The current crisis has been brewing since Feb 15 when the two Italian marines allegedly mistook two Indian fishermen for pirates and shot them dead in their own boat.
Ajesh Binky and Gelastine were shot dead by the Italian security officials on board the vessel.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi will land in New Delhi Tuesday for talks with his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna and is expected to arrive here Wednesday.