Kuber (registration number 2302) was registered in the name of a resident of Kharvawad in Porbandar, Vinod Masani. Masani, sources added, owns five more fishing boat, including the two that had been seized by Pakistani agencies earlier for trespassing into their waters.

Masani's brother, Hiralal, holds the power of attorney over Kuber. Hiralal, in turn, passed on the rights to a sub-contractor (name kept anonymous). It was this sub contractor who used to employ crew in Kuber, sources said.

Meanwhile, although nothing incriminating was found on MV Alpha, the ship intercepted yesterday by the Coast Guard, interrogation of the crew is still underway.

The MV Alpha is said to have a predominantly Ukrainian crew and according to reliable sources, investigators were not ruling out the possibility that the crew may have been bribed to take aboard these terrorists pretending to be smugglers who needed to be dropped off in Indian waters at a certain point on small boats. The MV Alpha is said to have left Karachi on November 26.

In which case, sources said, MV Alpha could have been the “mother ship” but this is still not established. Either way, sources said, the terrorists did receive extraordinary support from their handlers who could locate the Kuber through GPS so that the terrorists alighted in that general area on the high seas.

Having hijacked the Indian trawler, the terrorists retained one of the crew members both for navigation as well as to deal with any chance spotting by coastguard patrols. Now, the owner of the trawler Vinod Masani has been called to Mumbai for questioning and identification of the crew.

... contd.