Kerala cops deny permission to Italian minister to visit victim's house

KOLLAM: Kerala Police on Saturday denied permission for an Italian team led by deputy foreign minister Steffan de Mistura to visit the family members of one of the two fishermen shot dead allegedly by naval guards of an Italian merchant off the coast here.


According to police sources, the Italian team was dissuaded from visiting the victim's house on security grounds.


The victim's kin also did not show keen interest to meet the Italians, sources close to the family said. Mistura and other members of the team, however, visited the two naval guards, Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, who were kept at the Police club here after the extension of their police custody by the local court on Thursday.


The Italian team, which made a surprise visit to the hometown of the Valentine Jelastine, one of the two deceased fishermen, first interacted with a local Catholic priest who was conversant in Italian. According to sources, the Italians sought to know the local people's reaction to the incident. Asked what the purpose of the visit was, Mistura said he was sad that two fishermen were killed but declined to go into details of the case.


Meanwhile, Rs two lakh collected by pro-Congress Fish workers union was deposited in the name of Jelastine's sons. Union minister of state for food and civil supplies K V Thomas presented the documents of the deposit to the family. The fishermen, Jelastine and Ajesh Binki, were shot dead allegedly by the two Italian marine guards off the Kollam coast on February 15.