3 Naval men remanded to judicial custody

Kochi, Jan 11 (UNI) A local court today remanded three Naval personnel, including a Lt Commander, to 14-day judicial custody in connection with an incident in which they allegedly attacked the Harbour Police Station.

The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court rejected the Navy's plea to hand over Lt Commander Rahul Jyothi (29), and Sub Lts Deepak (28) and Prasanna Kumar (22) to its custody and remanded them to judicial custody after police charged them with 'attempt to murder.' Taking a serious view of the incident, the Navy today said it has ordered an investigation into last night's incident.

''The Navy clearly and unambiguously upholds the law of the land and those guilty, irrespective of their status, will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the Navy Act,'' a statement from the Southern Naval Command Headquarters here said.

According to police, trouble broke out around 2100 hrs yesterday when three Naval personnel parked their motorcycles in an odd manner on the Sastha Temple Road near the Harbour Police Station blocking traffic.

Lt Cdr Kohli, Vijay Sharma and Amar Singh objected when the police removed the vehicles forcibly.

Following a heated exchange, the trio was taken into custody by the police and were released only after the intervention of senior Naval officials.

However, around 2300 hrs, about 100 people on almost 50 motorcycles came to the police station and indulged in stone pelting.

Three of them were arrested while fleeing after the ''attack,'' the police said.

The window panes and the car of a sub-inspector at the police station were damaged in the attack, they added.

The Navy, however, claimed the confrontation occurred as the personnel were ''accosted'' by the police for a ''minor parking violation.'' Fearing for the safety of the three Naval personnel, who were taken into custody, other personnel assembled at the police station.

In the ensuing action, damage was caused to the police station as was claimed by the police, it said.

''Much later after the incident, the three officers were arrested by the police in the vicinity of the the Naval base though their involvement has not been established as of now,'' it added.

UNI ARC GM SB ND2112