Tags:
Journalism of Courage
BHUJ, JULY 8: The case of the North Korean ship Ku-wol San, now detained at Kandla, is getting curiouser and curiouser. One week after the ship was detained, allegedly for carrying missile and warhead-making equipment to Pakistan, no one is willing to speak about the precise nature of the cargo.
This, after most of the cargo has been unloaded from the ship and examined by DRDO experts. Although three crates remain on board and the ship is being turned around to facilitate their unloading, the contents of these crates are no longer secret to the authorities because the ship has been rummaged through twice.
8220;How can we arrest them unless their involvement is established?8221;, an irritated Prem Raj said. But Director General of Police C P Singh, who had announced the arrests yesterday said: 8220;They have been arrested but they are not in police custody. They are on the ship and the ship is under arrest.8221;
However, a port officer said the ship is detained for investigation, it is not under 8220;arrest8221; in shipping parlance, arrest means confiscation. It was under arrest only from June 12 to June 30 on the orders of the Mumbai High Court in a civil matter between two private parties, the officer clarified.
Significantly, Prem Raj said carrying military cargo for a third country, after proper declaration, was no offence under the Customs law, but a misdeclaration certainly constituted an offence. Stating that this probably being the case here, the matter needed thorough investigation and the process was still on. 8220;We have to be fair, the ship8217;s crew and all concerned would be heard after due notice for deciding their guilt or otherwise. We cannot say how long it will take.8221;
While the authorities are waiting for interpreters, the ship is being turned around for unloading the three crates, which contain pipes. Knowledgeable sources said proving a case of misdeclaration was not going to be easy because the cargo, which was recorded as machinery and water treatment equipment, could be used for various purposes, and not exclusively for making missiles and warheads. Therefore, investigation and adjudication is going to be 8220;a time-consuming process8221;.
The customs authorities have called for the movement log-book of the ship from its owners. Also, Pakistan figured in a message intercepted by an Indian agency during the ship8217;s anchorage at the port, it is said.
Meanwhile, sources in Delhi said that ship was carrying a 8220;political commissar8221; on board, a party apparatchik who could have been asked to keep an eye on the ship8217;s cargo. North Korean ambassador to India Pak Myung Gu has said here that the problem should be resolved diplomatically but the Ministry of External Affairs is believed to be taking a tough view of things.
