The Coast Guard on Friday ordered a Board of Inquiry against DIG BK loshali after his reply to a showcause notice was found “unsatisfactory.” The officer had claimed on Tuesday that he had ordered destruction of a Pakistani boat on December 31 last year off Porbandar. This version contradicted the Defence Ministry statement that the four-man crew set their boat on fire after a Coast Guard ship challenged it.
Besides initiating the Board of Inquiry against loshali, chief of staff North West region, the Coast Guard also released on Friday a four-minute video of the operation to back its statement. The video released after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in Bengaluru on Wednesday he could “release the evidence.” He also stood by the statement issued by his Ministry that the Pakistani crew set their boat ablaze and hinted disciplinary proceedings against the senior officer. “DIG BK loshali was served a showcause notice on February 18. The reply to the notice has been received and is found to be unsatisfactory. Therefore, in accordance with the extant procedures a Board of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the details and establish the facts,” the Coast Guard said in a Press release here.
“Further it has also been established from the commanding officer of the coastguard ship Rajratan, involved in the operation on the night of December 31, 2014, that he had received no communication from DIG BK loshali,” the release said.
Officials also said the Coast Guard stands by the information released to media by the Defence Ministry on January 2 this year and rejected various media interpretation on the issue of interception of the boat. “Suitable action will be taken on receipt of the proceedings of the Board of Inquiry,” it added.
loshali had reportedly said on Tuesday “I hope you remember December 31 night...We blew off that Pakistan...We have blown them off... I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani....”
The officer on Wednesday backtracked and said he was misquoted. “I was not privy to whatever was happening. I have been misquoted. I had mentioned that no anti-national element will be allowed to breach our coastal security and we are not going to serve them biryani.”
“The operation was classified in nature and its details were not shared (with me),” he had said in Ahmedabad after his remarks were reported. In his defence, loshali also said his senior Inspector General, North West region, Kuldip Singh Sheoran was in charge of the operation.