Pak boat: B K Loshali may face court martial

Islamabad, May 1: B K Loshali, the Coast Guard DIG, who had made that controversial remark that he had ordered the blowing up of the Pakistan boat appears to be in further trouble.

While he has consistently denied making that remark the Board of Inquiry is likely to press for court martial as it has found clinching evidence that he had infact made that remark. [Pak boat: Govt orders probe into DIG Loshali's statement]

The incident relating to the Pakistan boat had turned controversial with several persons claiming that the operation was not a bonafide one. [DIG Indian Coast Guard Loshali removed from his post]

While the Defence Ministry maintained that the inmates of the boat had blown the boat up, Loshali created a controversy when he said he had ordered that the boat be blown up.

Board of Inquiry observations

The Board of Inquiry was set up to probe into whether Loshali had made the controversial statement. While speaking at a programme, Loshali said, " remember the night of December 31, 2014. [DIG clarifies, Pakistanis blew the boat up]

We blew off that Pakistan boat. I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We do not want to serve them biriyani."

This statement ran completely contrary to what the Defence ministry had said. The ministry had said that the boat from Pakistan had been cornered. The Coast Guard told them to surrender. However the inmates decided to blow themselves up with the boat.

Loshali, after the statement was quick to change his line and claimed that he had never made that statement and in fact the clipping was edited. However the Board of Inquiry sourced the original clip from the organizers of the function that Loshali had spoken at and it became clear he had said every word of what had been reported.

What next for Loshali?

When the inquiry was set up, Loshali admitted that what he had said was wrong. I will respect the verdict of the board of inquiry he also said. [Pak boat: Loshali apologises, Coast Guard rejects it]

The Board of Inquiry which has gone into the tapes and also relied on the statements given by the various eye-witnesses could initiate action.

While it is contemplating a court martial, there is also a possibility that Loshali could be given strong reprimand. The quantum of the punishment would be made after consultation.

There are various factors that would be weighed before the final punishment is handed out, sources say.

OneIndia News