'Suspicious boat' a fishing net buoy with transponder that drifted into Indian waters: Police

Mumbai: After a 20-hour search operation involving multiple agencies, the "suspicious boat" spotted in the Arabian sea in Maharashtra's Raigad district has been identified as a fishing net buoy which was drifted into the Indian waters with an AIS transponder, police said on Monday.

Considering the high alert situation, the sensitive operation has not been called off yet, said Raigad Superintendent of Police Aanchal Dalal.

The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday night informed the police that the suspected Pakistani boat, "Muqadar Boya 99" with a boat number MMSI-463800411 was spotted near Korlai Fort, prompting an intensified search operation.

The vessel was spotted on the Indian Navy's radar on Sunday night, around two nautical miles off the Korlai coast in Revdanda, officials had said.

The potential security scare sent agencies into a tizzy as ten terrorists from Pakistan had sailed in a boat to reach the Mumbai coastline under the cover of darkness and launched a deadly terror attack in November 2008, killing 166 people.

Following the alert, the Raigad Police, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), Quick Response Team (QRT), Navy, and Coast Guard personnel rushed to the spot at night and launched the search, an official said.

QRTs and the BDDS teams patrolled the coast at Korlai and Salav while security along the coastline in Raigad was stepped up, he said.

Police stated that a drone of the fisheries department was used for surveillance while a Coast Guard helicopter was deployed for patrolling the coastal area. 52 police officers and 554 personnel of the Raigad Police had joined the search for the suspicious vessel.

The search was intensified with the help of the Coast Guard, Navy, and Maharashtra Maritime Security in the morning hours.

The Coast Guard informed the police that it was a fishing buoy. Following a search operation of over 20 hours, the police discovered that the suspected fishing boat was in Karachi.

Raigad Police on Monday confirmed the suspicious boat was a fishing net buoy drifted into Indian waters with a class B transponder. The identification was confirmed after speed analysis and movements in the sea, the official said.

Police stated that a similar fishing buoy from Okha had drifted to the Gujarat coast on January 3.

On the ground, armed police put up security blockades at 19 spots in Raigad district, while searches were conducted to identify suspicious vehicles or persons. Hotels, lodges, and resorts were also searched, a police official said, adding that strong vigil was maintained at all landing points and coastal areas.