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Even as the legal battle over compensation between dependants of the two fishermen shot dead by Italian marines and the ship owners is going on, the owner of the ill-fated fishing boat, St Anthony, also moved the high court on Monday, demanding Rs 72.6 lakh as damages.
Two fishermen, Valentine Jalastine and Ajeesh Pink, were shot allegedly by marines aboard Italian cargo ship Enrica Lexie off Kollam coast on February 15. The boat owner, Freddy J, survived the hail of bullets from the ship, but his boat was thoroughly damaged.
The marines and the ship crew have been maintaining that the attack on the unarmed fishing boat was in response to a suspected piracy attack.
Freddy, who had been a fisherman for more than a decade, is seeking compensation for the damage the boat suffered. Until the ship owner furnishes enough security to settle the claim, the ship, MV Enrica Lexie, should be detained along with its engines, gear, furniture and registration papers, the petition states.
In addition to the ship owner, Freddy has named the two marines, Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone of Italian Navy, and captain of the ship Umberto Vitelli as being responsible for his loss .
The owner of the ship and the officials named in the petition are responsible for the "wanton illegal acts" and are legally bound to put the petitioner back in the position that he was in prior to the incident, the suit filed at the high court states.
When the dependants of the dead fishermen approached the court, the ship owner was asked to furnish bank guarantees of Rs 25 lakh for each of the victims to facilitate the court to order compensation at a later stage if the action of the marines was found to be unlawful.
However, the dependants moved a division bench of the court against the single bench order to furnish bank guarantees of Rs 25 lakh each, claiming that the guarantees furnished are too low.
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