Mumbai, Jul 11 (PTI) Police have found that more than 1,000 boats are operating without proper registration in the coastal area of Raigad district in Maharashtra, an official said on Friday.
This came to light during the police’s search operation launched after a suspected Pakistani boat was recently spotted on the Coast Guard’s radar in the Arabian Sea off Korlai fort in Raigad.
“The Raigad police launched a search to trace the suspected Pakistani boat. During the operation, the police found that over 1,000 boats are operating without registration along the coastline of the district,” Raigad Superintendent of Police (SP) Aanchal Dalal said.
The police have submitted the list of these unregistered boats to the fisheries department for necessary action against their owners, she said.
“Registration of boats is very important for coastal security and for the protection of fishermen. If any emergency situation arises when they go fishing, the police should be able to trace their boat and give proper assistance in times of distress mid-sea,” she said.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Sunday night informed the police that the suspected Pakistani boat, “Muqadar Boya 99” with a boat number MMSI-463800411 was spotted near the Korlai fort. It was identified as a fishing net buoy which drifted into the Indian waters with an AIS transponder.
Dalal added that the search for the fishing buoy was still underway.
The potential security scare sent agencies into a tizzy as 10 terrorists from Pakistan had sailed in a boat to reach the Mumbai coastline under the cover of darkness and launched a deadly terror attack in November 2008, killing 166 people. PTI COR DC NP
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