Abu Dhabi: An autopsy has been conducted on the body of an Indian fisherman who was killed in a shooting by a US navy vessel off Dubai waters, M.K. Lokesh, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News on Wednesday.
The Dubai Police conducted an autopsy on the body of A. Sekhar on Wednesday but its report is still being awaited, he said.
He said it was not sure when the body could be repatriated to India as it depends on certain formalities to be completed as part of the ongoing investigations into the incident.
The incident happened on Monday when a small fishing boat was fired upon by a security team on-board the US Navy vessel.
Lokesh said the embassy was in touch with the UAE authorities and the Government of India with the US Government in Washington about the ongoing investigations.
He revealed that one of the three injured fishermen told him on Tuesday that the fishermen’s boat was fired at without any warning while they were coming back to the shore after the fishing trip. He visited the three injured fishermen at Rashid Hospital on Tuesday evening.
“That is one man’s version and there may be other versions also, so I don’t want to highlight this version when the investigation are being carried out by the UAE and the US authorities,” the ambassador explained.
Lokesh hoped that the truth behind the unfortunate incident would be revealed when the authorities question all the people who were on-board the boat.
The deceased Sekar and the injured — Muthu Muniraj (28), Muthu Kannan (35) and Pandu Sanadhan (26) — are from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
