Kochi: Two Italian navy personnel, who allegedly shot dead two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast last Wednesday, have been sent to police custody till February 23. They will then be remanded to judicial custody for the next 11 days till March 5. The order was pronounced today by a magistrate in Kollam district in front of whom the duo was produced.
Even as the proceedings were on inside the magistrate's residence - since the court was closed due to a public holiday, locals stood outside, shouting slogans and demanding death penalty for the accused. The protests continued even as the marines were taken away by the cops.
But the arrests clearly don't seem to have put an end to the diplomatic stand-off between Indian and Italy that the incident had resulted in. Italian foreign minister Giulio Terzi on Monday warned of "considerable differences" with India over the alleged killing of the two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates by the Italian soldiers.
"There are currently considerable differences of a legal character. Up to now I have not seen the co-operation between India and Italy that would be desirable and would allow a quick resolution," Mr Terzi said.
The crew members, who were being interrogated by the police, had been asked to surrender by 8 am yesterday. But the process was delayed with Italy hardening its stance on the matter. Yesterday, an Italian delegation arrived in the national capital and met senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Sources have told NDTV that the Italians tried hard for a concession, contending that the men held in custody were marines but India refused to budge from its stated stand.
The meeting between the both sides happened just hours after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna publicly urged the Italians to cooperate in the ongoing investigations.
The minister had indulged in some tough talk on Saturday, telling his Italian counterpart that the ship's crew must cooperate with Indian authorities. He later told the media that the loss of "innocent lives" could have been avoided had the naval personnel onboard Enrica Lexie been careful and exercised restraint.
Ajesh Binki, 25, from Tamil Nadu and Gelastine, 45, from Kerala, were mistaken for pirates and shot dead by the crew of an Italian ship on Wednesday evening about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha.
(With agency inputs)
Even as the proceedings were on inside the magistrate's residence - since the court was closed due to a public holiday, locals stood outside, shouting slogans and demanding death penalty for the accused. The protests continued even as the marines were taken away by the cops.
But the arrests clearly don't seem to have put an end to the diplomatic stand-off between Indian and Italy that the incident had resulted in. Italian foreign minister Giulio Terzi on Monday warned of "considerable differences" with India over the alleged killing of the two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates by the Italian soldiers.
"There are currently considerable differences of a legal character. Up to now I have not seen the co-operation between India and Italy that would be desirable and would allow a quick resolution," Mr Terzi said.
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The crew members, who were being interrogated by the police, had been asked to surrender by 8 am yesterday. But the process was delayed with Italy hardening its stance on the matter. Yesterday, an Italian delegation arrived in the national capital and met senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Sources have told NDTV that the Italians tried hard for a concession, contending that the men held in custody were marines but India refused to budge from its stated stand.
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The meeting between the both sides happened just hours after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna publicly urged the Italians to cooperate in the ongoing investigations.
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The minister had indulged in some tough talk on Saturday, telling his Italian counterpart that the ship's crew must cooperate with Indian authorities. He later told the media that the loss of "innocent lives" could have been avoided had the naval personnel onboard Enrica Lexie been careful and exercised restraint.
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Ajesh Binki, 25, from Tamil Nadu and Gelastine, 45, from Kerala, were mistaken for pirates and shot dead by the crew of an Italian ship on Wednesday evening about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha.
(With agency inputs)
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