Empty boat found in suspicious condition 'hardly 50 kms away from Sriharikota'

A boat was found under mischievous circumstances hardly 50 kms away from the space centre in Sriharikota before the launch of a satellite from PSLV-C46, police said.

"Pannapudi Patooru is a village of fishermen near the sea coast in Vidavallur Mandal, Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. On May 20, the fishermen were going to the sea. There they found an empty boat in the sea near their village. It was found hardly four-five km away from the shore. The villagers pulled it to the shore and informed the police and marine police," said Vidavallur Police Station Sub Inspector P Nagababu told ANI.

"Then marine, fisheries, coast guard departments along with the state police plunged into action. The police found the boat empty. The local people claimed that they first found the boat so it belongs to them only. It took a long time for the police to convince them. Nidavaluru police, at last, seized the boat on May 21," he added.

The police official added that the place where the boat was found is "hardly 50 km away from Sriharikota, the place where SHAR is located and a satellite was about to be launched from PSLV-C46 from SHAR at that moment."

In the wake of this, the boat created much suspicion. Some rumours were spread that the boat belongs to Sri Lanka.

They said that there is a sticker on the boat, which reads as "India Sri Lanka Friendship".

As a precautionary measure, the Vidavallur Police gave information to the fisheries departments of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, informed the CISF personnel in SHAR. Coast guard and dog squad have also been deployed.

Nagireddy further informed that an FIR has been registered and the case is filed under Section 102 of CrPC (Unclaimed property).