Kuber owner may move HC seeking nod to set sail

S Ahmed Ali TNN

Mumbai: It has been four years since the 26/11 terror attacks, Vinod Masani, the owner of fishing boat Kuber, is still in deep water. The boat was hijacked by Ajmal Kasab and his cohorts between Porbandar and Jakhau for 26/11.
    The Gujarat fisheries department has refused to grant Masani permission to sail in Gujarat waters. “Since July, the Gujarat fisheries department has put a ban stating that I should first get a clearance from the government.” said Masani.
    “The special court has given me a clean chit and released my seized boat. I am planning to file a petition in before the Bombay high court seeking direction to all agencies, including the Gujarat fisheries department, to allow me to sail again,” he added.
    Masani, who owns four such boats, said he is reeling under losses and has been paying the salaries of the boat’s staffers. Masani, who welcomed the government’s decision to hang Kasab, is upset with the manner in which his case has been handled by the government and security agencies. The fishing vessel was hijacked by terrorists in the Arabian Sea days before 26/11.
    Four fishermen on the vessel were killed and the terrorists dumped their bodies in the sea. The boat driver, Amar Solanki, was bumped off later and his body was found by the Navy. The vessel’s four crew members are listed as missing in official records. They were identified as Junagadh resident Ramesh Solanki (36), Valsad residents Balwant Tandel (45) and Mukesh Rathod (20) and Navasari native Nanu Rathod.

IN DEEP WATER: Kasab and his cohorts hijacked the boat for 26/11