The Raigad district police in Maharashtra issued an alert and increased security along the coastline after the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) from Delhi said that the ICG at Murud spotted a suspicious Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea about 3 nautical miles near Korlai Fort in Murud taluka on Sunday, July 6, at around 9 pm. However, after a thorough investigation, it was found that it was not a boat but a fishing net buoy or floater, which is attached to a fishing boat to keep the net afloat.
Raigad police superintendent Anchal Dalal said the buoy accidentally detached from a fishing boat and drifted away about five months ago. GPS trackers are commonly installed in buoys used for fishing activity, and efforts are being made to trace it. The ICG, along with helicopters and more than 600 police personnel, were deployed to patrol the coastline to trace the buoy.
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On January 3 this year, the ICG reported a similar incident off the Okha coast in Gujarat. The ICG Murud received information from ICG Delhi that a suspicious Pakistani boat with a registered number was spotted 2.5 to 3 nautical miles in the Arabian Sea.
Raigad police immediately set into action. Two teams of the Rapid Response Force and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad were dispatched with instructions to carry out patrolling and search operations. A total of 19 armed cops were deployed at various checkpoints in the coastal and creek areas.