Kuber returns to its owner in Porbandar

Fishing trawler Kuber, hijacked by terrorists who used it to enter Indian waters before carrying out the November 26 terror strikes, returned to its owner in Porbandar on Monday.

Kuber, which set sail from Mumbai on last Friday, took about 70 hours to reach Porbandar, its owner Vinod Masani said.

Masani was excited to get back his boat as it was built by him 10 years ago. But he is yet not sure what he will do with it.

"As it has come back to Porbandar, we will study the damage to the boat and after that decide about the future of the trawler," he said.

In normal course, the distance from Mumbai would have been covered in 36 hours but it took 70 hours due to the damage caused to the boat's engine and other parts after it was hijacked by the terrorists to reach Mumbai on November 25 last year, Masani said over phone.

On February 13, Kuber was returned to its owner by the police after a local court in Mumbai granted permission following an application filed by Masani pleading that the vessel be returned to him.

The court has however, instructed the owner not to sell the boat as it could be used as evidence in cases against Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, the lone terrorist arrested in the 26/11 attacks.

The boat with five fishermen on board had left Porbandar coast on November 14 last for fishing in the Arabian sea but was allegedly hijacked by Pakistani vessel Al Husseini in international waters on November 23 and the crew, barring the captain, were offloaded.

The four missing crew members of the boat are Ramesh Nagji (from Junagadh), Balwant Prabhu, Mukesh Rathod and Nathubhai Nanubhai (all from Navsari).

The vessel was then boarded by the ten terrorists who sailed to within a few nautical miles off Mumbai, killed the captain Amarsinh Solanki and used a rubber dinghy to land on the city's shores. Masani had sent four new crew members to get the boat back to Porbandar.