Centre and Kerala to jointly take action on Italian shooting case, says Krishna

New Delhi -  External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Thursday called for a joint action by Centre and Kerala government in the Italian shooting case, in which two Indian fishermen were killed by crew of Italian shipping vessel ‘Enrica Lexie’ on February 15 in the high seas off the coast of Kerala.

Krishna, while addressing mediapersons here, said: “Well, that’s a call the Government of India and state government of Kerala has to take.”

Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Staffan de Mistura on Wednesday had said that Italy wanted to find a solution to the diplomatic and legal row in the shooting case.

According to media reports, two seamen, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, killed two Indian fishermen mistaking them for pirates off the coast of Kerala.

Italy, on the contrary, said the accused were shooting into the water and should be tried under Italian law as they were sailing in international waters at the time of the shooting.

Reacting on the Norway custody row, Krishna added that the central government is taking all possible steps to ensure the swift reunion of the parents with the children.

“Well, I think it is government of India’s firm commitment that the children must be given the opportunity to come back to India and we will make all the efforts to achieve that goal of getting  back the children to India, where they belong,” said Krishna.

Last May, Norwegian authorities had taken custody of the three-year-old son and one-year old daughter of Anurup Bhattacharya and Sagarika Bhattacharya who were based in Stavanger.

The children were taken under protective care by Barnevarne (Norwegian Child Welfare Services), which cited an emotional disconnect with the parents.

The parents said the authorities took exception to cultural differences such as sleeping with the children and breastfeeding the daughter at scheduled times, as opposed to when she would  cry.

The Indian embassy in Oslo, in response, had told Norwegian authorities that the children are being deprived being brought up in their own cultural and linguistic environment.