26/11 style attack aborted: Blast in boat off Gujarat coast stokes terror attack fears

NEW DELHI: A fishing boat, suspected to be from Pakistan, exploded after a dramatic chase off the Gujarat coast on New Year’s Eve after the vessel was intercepted by Coast Guard near the Indo-Pak maritime boundary in Arabian Sea, raising suspicion that a major terror attack was being planned. The boat’s four occupants appeared to have been killed after they blew up the vessel, refusing calls to surrender

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which probes terror-related cases, could be asked to investigate the incident, according to sources aware of the rapidly unfolding developments. In a press statement on Friday detailing the events on the night of Dec 31-Jan 1, the defence ministry said a suspect boat “carrying explosives” was intercepted by Coast Guard off the coast near Porbandar in Gujarat.

The statement further added that the government had received intelligence on December 31 that a fishing boat from “KetiBunder near Karachi was planning some illicit transaction” in the Arabian Sea. The statement did not describe the incident as a terror attack.

However, intelligence sources said a phone intercept picked up by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) on the morning of December 31 clearly referred to “explosives” being on the boat and which was to be transferred to another boat. NTRO is an arm of India’s security apparatus which, among other things, monitors communication. These sources said intelligence agencies have been on alert ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit to India for Republic Day and the upcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas being held in Gujarat from January 7.

“Coast Guard and security agencies are maintaining high vigil in maritime and coastal areas since the last couple of months due to several inputs on threat from the sea,” the government statement said. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar praised the Coast Guard’s prompt response saying a major danger had been averted.Some intelligence sources doubted the terror angle saying the boat may have been carrying diesel and its occupants may have been engaged in smuggling.

Other sources wondered why the boat’s occupants would “commit suicide” by setting the vessel on fire rather than surrender to the Coast Guard.

“It seems there was incriminating material in form of terror-related explosive from Pakistan that made the men blow themselves up. Maybe they were under strict instructions to not be caught alive in any event. That is a matter of investigation. NIA is expected to probe it,” said an intelligence source. However, these sources provided no detail of the kind of explosive the boat may have been carrying.

Indian maritime security agencies responded rapidly to the alert, which was received around 9:30 am on December 31, as per these sources. Around noon, Coast Guard Dornier aircraft found the boat was already inside Indian waters but was moving at a very slow pace. A Coast Guard ship, ‘Raj Rattan’ was then dispatched, which intercepted the boat around midnight.