The Gujarat Police have so far ruled out the connection of any fisherman from Porbandar, apart from the slain crew of the fishing boat, Kuber, in the Mumbai terror attack case.

The police said investigations so far have not revealed the involvement of any local element in the incident. A senior police officer also denied reports of the hijacked Kuber coming back to Porbandar before going to Mumbai.

He said: “Our investigation has not pointed at anything like this. At the moment, the Porbandar connection is limited to the hijacked vessel, Kuber, being registered here. There is nothing more to it as of now.”

Sources, however, said that the boat did berth at Diu on its onward journey to Mumbai. The slain tendel (captain) of Kuber, Amarsinh Solanki, belonged to a village near Diu and the chances of the boat stopping there cannot be ruled out, they said. Moreover, the GPS system recovered from the boat also had co-ordinates set for Diu, they added.

A team of the Mumbai Crime Branch, which is in town, is also carrying out investigations in the case. Hira Masani, the owner of the boats Maa, Kaveri and Kuber, and Vinod Masani, who had the power of attorney to operate these vessels, have also been questioned by the police. The Gujarat Police have also questioned some other boat owners and fishermen known to frequently venture near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

However, investigation by the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Gujarat Police may be in different directions, as there is no formal co-ordination between the two agencies. Police officers said that till now, there has been no formal information sharing between the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Gujarat Police.

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