Fishermen killing: 'Law will take its own course'

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Sunday said the law of the country would take its own course in fishermen killing case in which the crew of an Italian ship fired at and killed two Indians off Kollam coast in Kerala.

"The law of the land will take its own course in the incident where the crew of an Italian ship Enrica Lexie fired at and killed two Indian fishermen (off Kollam coast in Kerala)," he told reporters on the sidelines of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee meeting in Bangalore.

Krishna said the captain and two members of the Italian ship must cooperate with Kerala law agencies to arrive at an amicable solution.

"We have advised the Italians to cooperate with the Kerala law agencies to find an amicable solution," he said.

Refuting claims of Italian embassy officials in Delhi that the Indian vessel attacked the Italian ship in international waters, Krishna said "the fishing vessel was only carrying fishing nets and fish".

The fishermen Ajesh Binki, 25, and Jalastein, 45, were killed on February 15 off Kollam coast near Kerala when armed guards of the ship fired at their boat, suspecting it to be a vessel belonging to pirates.

Krishna said there were agitations in Kerala over fishermen's killings.

Krishna said he has been in talks with Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Giulio Maria Terzi and Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on the issue.

The minister said he was looking forward to Terzi's visit to India on February 28.