BSF finds another abandoned Pakistani boat off Gujarat coast

The BSF has found yet another abandoned Pakistani trawler in the Sir Creek area in Gujarat's Kutch district - the fifth such discovery in the last three months - on Saturday, officials said.

Border Security Force (BSF) sources said that the boat was noticed in the creek area by a patrol team and has been brought for further investigation. Prima facie, it seems to be a fishing boat and there was no suspicious object found in it, the sources added.

Earlier two such boats, including one with a hunting gun, were found in the same area in the second half of last month and one such boat was also found in Sir Creek area on January 16.

Yet another abandoned Pakistani boat was seized near Haraminala in December last year.

An official said the recovery of boats in the area, which is rich in sea food, was not very unusual as Pakistani fishermen would at times stealthily enter the marshy area to catch prawns and they would abandon the boat and escape if they suspect or see any BSF patrol boat in the vicinity.

However, sources said that recovery of such boats in quick succession could be a matter of security concern and was being looked into. Terror elements could use such boats, according to the sources.