kuwait-boat-probe-mumbai-court-remands-three-men-in-police-custody-till-feb-10

A court on Wednesday remanded three men arrested for allegedly entering India illegally on a boat from Kuwait to police custody till February 10 as the police need to verify their route and whether they had committed any crime in the international territory.

The trio, Nitso Ditto (31), Vijay Vinay Anthony (29), and J Sahayatta Anish (29), were produced before a metropolitan magistrate here.

They were booked by the police under the provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules for not following the due procedure required while entering the country.

The trio was on board an anchored Kuwaiti boat at the Gateway of India in south Mumbai on Tuesday.

The police in its remand note submitted to the court on Wednesday said the boat had been checked by a team of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and no explosive substance has been found.

The police have recovered a GPS from the boat which needs to be sent for analysis to get clarity on the route taken by the three from Kuwait to India, it said.

"During the initial probe, the accused persons said they left Kuwait on January 28 and travelled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Muscat, Oman and Pakistan before entering the Indian shores. The police are yet to ascertain this route," the note said.