No joint examination of weapons from Italian ship'

Indo-Asian News Service
Kollam, February 29, 2012

First Published: 18:53 IST(29/2/2012)
Last Updated: 18:58 IST(29/2/2012)

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A court in Kollam on Wednesday dismissed an Italian government plea for joint forensic examination of the  weapons seized from the Italian ship Enrica Lexie and which were allegedly used in the killing of two Indian fishermen.
The Kollam chief judicial first class magistrate 

hearing the petition said that Italian government representatives could be present when the boxes containing the weapons are opened at the test firing, but not for the entire forensic examination.

Last week four boxes containing seven guns were seized from the ship by a Kerala Police team in the presence of Italian officials.

The two Indian fishermen were shot dead Feb 15th by two Italian security officials on board the Italian ship off the Kerala coast, taking them to be pirates.

The Kollam court had directed the Kerala police to go ahead with the investigation. After the police arrested two Italian marines, Latorre Massimillano and Salvatore Girone, the court sent them to 14 days custody, with the police custody ending Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram, chief minister Oommen Chandy ruled out an out-of-court settlement.

"Once a criminal case is registered under the Indian Penal Code, then an out-of-court settlement is not possible. The investigation is going in the right direction and only the Indian law will now be applicable. The Italian authorities and even the courts have complemented the way the investigation is going on," said Chandy.

Italian foreign minister Giulio Maria Terzi di Sant who arrived in Kochi on Tuesday night and spent some time with the arrested marines before leaving for New Delhi on Wednesday.