Palghar fisherman killed in Pak firing off Gujarat coast

Palghar (Maharashtra), Nov 7 (IANS) A young fisherman from Palghar in Maharashtra was killed and another was injured after Pakistani troops fired at a fishing boat off Okha Coast, Porbandar, Gujarat, officials said on Sunday.The deceased fisherman has been identified as Shridhar R. Chamare (32), a resident of Vadrai, a coastal village in Palghar district. The incident has sparked anger among the fishing community here."Chamare was working on the boat 'Jalpari' owned by Jayanti Bokhama for the past more than three months," Maninder Arekar, Chairman of Vadrai Fishermen's Cooperative Society, said in a statement.He said that Chamare along other fishermen had gone fishing into the Arabian Sea on Saturday. More details of the tragedy are awaited.The fishermen have demanded that the governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat should take up the matter with the Indian government to ensure that the body of Chamare is returned to India with full dignity. They also demanded that an international probe should be ordered into the rash action by the Pakistani troops.The Okha Marine police station has registered a case and is probing the matter.Slamming the incident, India-Pakistan peace activist Jatin Desai said in Mumbai, "Firing is unacceptable...it violates all international conventions."Under no circumstances traditional fishing boats should be fired upon. It's high time that the governments of India and Pakistan work out a permanent resolution to this issue. Ideally, both should agree to have a 'no arrest policy' also."
--IANS qn/arm

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