The collision between the fishing trawler and the Coast Guard vessel that left six persons missing on April 25 has thrown up a rather interesting question over the jurisdictional powers of the police. Four days after the incident, the police are still undecided over whether the incident occurred within 12 nautical miles of the Goa coast or beyond that distance in the high seas - a moot issue that will determine whether the investigations in the case will be done by the Goa police or the Yellow gate police.
According to a notification of the Government of India, anything that happens beyond 12 nautical miles on the west coast comes under the jurisdiction of the Yellow Gate police station, senior police officials informed. The jurisdiction lies in Mumbai as it has an admiralty court.
Senior officials of the Yellow gate police station from Mumbai arrived in Goa on Saturday with a view to determine if the accident occurred within their jurisdictional limits. "If it is established that the incident happened beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast, the case will be handed over to the Yellow gate police for investigations," Dy SP Mohan Naik said.
Speaking to TOI, south Goa SP Shekhar Prabhudessai said that the senior officials of the Yellow gate are conducting preliminary assessment of the situation.
"Nothing has been decided as yet," he said when asked if the investigations will be handed over to the Yellow gate police. Once the Yellow gate police submit their assessment report to the South Goa police, an appropriate decision will be taken, Prabhudessai said.
Meanwhile, three bodies were recovered on Sunday during the search and rescue operations being conducted by the Navy and the Coast Guard thereby taking the total number of bodies recovered so far to four. Search is on for the remaining two missing crew members of the trawler.
Monday 29 April 2013
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Police-undecided-over-jurisdication-over-mid-sea-collision/articleshow/19771759.cms
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