Two arrested for ship terror ‘strike’

Two crew members of the Turkish Merchant Vessel stationed at Mumbai Port, which had raised an alarm against an armed intruder were arrested on Monday.

Two crew members of the Turkish Merchant Vessel stationed at Mumbai Port, which had raised an alarm against an armed intruder were arrested on Monday.

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The prime accused Ibrahim Mallik Gul, 43, a crew member and Akgun Serkat, 31, captain of MV Kormel, were arrested on Monday night.

The police said Gul threatened Serkat with a knife after having a heated argument. Following this, Serkat called the Mumbai Port Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) claiming that an armed intruder was threatening him and his crew members.

“We have questioned other crew members and we are in the process of collecting evidence from the vessel. We have also notified the Turkish embassy,” said Chandrakant Naik, senior police inspector of Yellow gate police station.

The police are also questioning Serkat about the nature of his distress call. “He claimed that he did not know Gul. He further said Gul was heavily armed. But when Gul was apprehended, he only had a knife in his hands,” said the officer.

Crew members of MV Kormel told HT that they had no idea why the duo was arguing. “We saw them having a heated conversation, but we never thought Gul would become violent,” said one Mustafa, third engineer of MV Kormel.