Fishing trawler used by terrorists lies unused at Porbandar port since 2008

Porbandar/New Delhi: Fifteen years have passed since the deadly terror attack carried out by Pakistani terrorists rattled the country's financial capital but the trawler that was used by the terrorists including Ajmal Kasab to reach Mumbai remains parked in a corner at the ports of Porbandar in Gujarat.

The trawler was bought by Gujarati businessman Hiralal and his brother Vinod Masani.

However luck did not favour him even as the boat was named 'Kuber'. Lord Kuber is God of wealth.

The younger brother Vinod, who was given the trawler by his elder brother, is now paralysed and speaks in a feeble voice and broken tone.

Speaking to IANS, Vinod said: "The trawler has been brought offshore and kept there ever since it was brought back to Porbandar in 2009, just few months after the Mumbai terror attack."

Vinod rued: "We have not been able to earn anything from it. And it has only brought us huge losses."

The 'Kuber' was hijacked by Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and eight other terrorists to orchestrate the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

Ajmal Kasab and his accomplices hijacked the boat off the Gujarat coast a few days before they launched the attacks on November 26, 2008.

"And once it came back to Porbandar, none of the people could show enough courage to run it again as they feel it is an ill omen," he said, adding that many of the crew he convinced to operate the boat refused to come on board.

He further said that the boat is only making losses for him as maintaining it even ashore costs a lot.

Appealling to the government for help, Vinod said: "The government must think about me, as I lost everything in it.

Meanwhile, Manish Lodhari, ex-president of Porbandar Fishermen and Boat Association, said that the boat ‘Kuber’ could never set sail in the sea again after the 2008 terror attacks.

He said that people have nicknamed it as "terror boat".

"Vinod Masani tried to take the trawler out to sea several times but all his efforts went in vein because people were not ready to sign as they were not convinced to be part of the crew of the terror boat," Lodhari said.

Lodhari also recalled that in Porbandar, earlier about 5,000 boats used to be in operation for fishing.

"However, the number has now come down to around 2,500. About 1,200 boats are in Pakistan's custody and about 200 fishermen are also locked in Pakistan," he said.

He said that during Diwali this year, around 100 fishermen were released from Pakistan and they were brought back.

"However, there are about 200 fishermen locked in Pakistan," he added.

Lodhari also said that many of the people have now switched to other businesses, and those who are operating avoid going towards Pakistani waters fearing their arrest, he said.

A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

The attack was carried out by 10 well trained Pakistani terrorists, who laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing people at several iconic and vital locations of Mumbai including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Hotel Taj, Trident Hotel, Nariman House -- a Jewish Centre among others.

Meanwhile, an Intelligence source said that to thwart any such terror attacks in the future and to develop the more precise intelligence on the terrorists plans, the government has put a focus to strengthen the Intelligence Bureau to collect more information, which it has been doing after conducting regular meetings with the state police, other agencies and the Indian Army.

The IB now collects and shares the intelligence with them to keep a close tab on all the information shared and analyse them.