— File photo

Admiral Sureesh Mehta.

NEW DELHI: The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, did not rule out the involvement of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the recent incidents of firing on Indian fishermen in order to create a misunderstanding between the two countries.

Basing his views on assurances given by the Sri Lankan Naval chief, Admiral Mehta said the purpose could be to create a rift between the two nations.

"I had personally spoken to the Chief of the Sri Lankan Navy five days back [following another incident of firing on Indian fishermen] and he assured me that his men had no intention of harassing fishermen in this manner. The Sri Lankan Navy has also issued strict instructions asking its personnel not to open fire on Indian fishermen who had strayed into Lankan waters," he told newspersons on Friday.

In a recent meeting between top officers from the Sri Lankan security establishment and the Indian High Commission in Colombo, the Sri Lankan navy chief had shown maps to prove that his ships were nowhere in the vicinity when incidents of firing on Indian fishermen took place.

"It could be a tactic by the LTTE to create a rift," he observed.

The navy chief also regretted that the State Government was not doing enough to warn fishermen about the perils of entering Sri Lankan waters at a time when conflict was raging in and around the Island nation. "There are some systems that should have been put in place."

With about 3,000 boats crossing over into the international waters everyday, Admiral Mehta wanted the boats to carry some kind of locational indication instrument so that the Indian authorities were aware of their whereabouts and could alert the forces of the other side in case they inadvertently crossed over in the waters controlled by Sri Lanka.

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