Kerala police seize guns from Italian ship

Kerala police on Sunday seized machine guns alleged to have been used by soldiers on an Italian oil tanker to shoot two fishermen who were mistaken for pirates.


The guns were removed from the Italian-flagged oil tanker Enrica Lexie, which has been docked in Cochin port in southern India since the fatal shootings on February 15.


Two Italian soldiers who were deployed on the vessel to guard against the growing threats from armed pirates across the Indian Ocean have been arrested on murder charges and are being held in custody.


Diplomatic tensions have been high since the deaths, with Italian authorities saying the shootings occurred in international waters and the soldiers have immunity from Indian law.


Indian police, witnessed by 10 Italian government officers, began a 14-hour search of the oil tanker on Saturday and took the arms off early on Sunday.


"We have seized four boxes from the ship. They contain two Italian-made light machine guns and other weapons," a senior Indian police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.


"We believe that the guns were used to kill the two Indian fishermen," he added.


The weapons will be submitted as evidence in court proceedings against the two soldiers.


Italy has expressed its regret over the shootings but said the Indian fishing crew behaved aggressively and were repeatedly warned before shots were fired.


Last week Italy filed a petition in the Kerala state high court seeking instant dismissal of the murder case.


The owner of the Indian fishing boat said the soldiers fired "without provocation", killing the two unarmed fishermen aged 21 and 50.