Coast Guard DIG Loshali. Coast Guard DIG Loshali.

The government has removed Coast Guard DIG B K Loshali from the position of Chief of Staff, North West and attached him to the force’s Gandhinagar-based regional headquarters.

The move on Monday came barely a week after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar indicated that action would be taken against Loshali for comments that contradicted the government’s stand on the sinking of a Pakistani fishing boat off the Gujarat coast on New Year’s eve.

READ: Coast Guard responds with a Board of Inquiry and footage of a boat on fire

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“He has not been given any responsibility. A three-member inquiry board will take inputs from various agencies and individuals, and submit its report to the Coast Guard HQ in four weeks,” said an official from the Defence Ministry.

While the government has claimed that the Pakistani boat had been set on fire by its crew, Loshali told an audience of Coast Guard and Larsen & Toubro officials on February 15 that on “31st December night. I was there at Gandhinagar, and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani”.

READ: Pakistan boat issue: Come out with ‘clear facts’, Congress tells govt

According to the Defence Ministry official, the inquiry board, which will be headed by a senior officer of DIG-rank, was collecting inputs from those who were on duty at the time of the incident. “Based on the final report submitted by the BoI, the action on DIG Loshali could either be disciplinary or administrative,” the official said.

READ: Pak boat explosion: Government to probe officer who blew up in its face

Loshali’s remarks were first reported by The Indian Express on February 18 after which the officer claimed he was misquoted. However, this newspaper subsequently released a video of his speech following which the Coast Guard issued a showcause notice to the officer, giving him 48 hours to reply. His reply was “found unsatisfactory”, leading to the Board of Inquiry.

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