Maharashtra ATS Files FIR Against 'Unknown Persons' After Suspicious Boat With Weapons Found Off Raigad Coast

State security apparatus was sent into a tizzy after a severely damaged yacht washed up on Harihareshwar beach on Thursday, after which the fisherfolk alerted the local authorities.

A suspicious boat with three AK-47 rifles and bullets found off the Raigad coast in Maharashtra

Source : PTI

New Delhi: After an investigation into the 'suspicious' speed-boat found off Raigad shores on Thursday, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) filed an FIR against unknown persons on Friday, news agency IANS reported.

According to the report, ATS chief Vineet Agarwal, who reached Raigad along with his team, and the Raigad Police, have thoroughly probed the matter and ruled out a possible terror angle as of now.

It is to be noted that the Navi Mumbai ATS Unit, that is handling the investigation, has filed an FIR invoking various sections of the Arms Act against unknown persons.

Notably, the state security apparatus was sent into a tizzy after a severely damaged yacht washed up on Harihareshwar beach, around 200km south of Mumbai on Thursday, after which the fisherfolk alerted the local authorities.

The UK-flagged 53-feet-long yacht 'MY Lady Han', that is owned by an Australian couple, was found with some documents, three AK-47 rifles and some boxes with live ammunition, sparking a major security scare in the state.

However, later, a Dubai-based Neptune P2P Group announced that it had provided security to the yacht in June 2022.

The state government informed the legislature that the speedboat had suffered an engine failure on June 26 and the crew on board were rescued by a Korean warship. After drifting in the Arabian Sea for 52 days, it finally washed up on Harihareshwar Beach on Thursday afternoon, as per reports.

According to the Neptune P2P Group, after the boat was damaged during monsoon, an emergency was declared and the crew members were rescued, although they could not salvage the vessel owing to inclement weather conditions.

As per reports, the boat was scheduled to sail from Oman to Europe, with its owner Hannah Laundergun and her husband James Robert sailing it, along with one unidentified crew member, when the accident occurred.

The security provider had said it had presumed the yacht to have sunk but after it was found on Raigad shores, the Neptune P2P Group has been coordinating with the vessel owners and the authorities in India and United Kingdom for the official recovery procedures.