india

Updated: Oct 02, 2016 15:29 IST

The Indian Coast Guard caught a Pakistani boat off the Gujarat coast on Sunday morning, triggering fears of an attack amid heightened tensions between the two nations, ANI reported.

Authorities escorted the boat and its nine crew members to Porbandar for investigation, agencies said.

Read: Maritime terror major threat but Indian coasts secure: Rajnath Singh

A senior coast guard officer confirmed the development and said the crew members are being questioned by officers to get more details about their activity and plan in the Indian waters.

ICG Samudra Pavak was on patrol duty off Gujarat coast when it found the Pakistani boat in Indian waters. The Pakistani boat was chased and crew members were apprehended. The coast guard is likely to hand over the Pakistani men to Porbandar Police for further investigations.

The incident comes days after the government sounded a high alert and security agencies tightening vigil, especially in the border areas and coasts. ANI reported that the coast guard had deployed several ships and aircraft to monitor India’s waters.

Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad have plummeted after the army said on Thursday it carried out “surgical strikes” on temporary militant bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Islamabad has hit back, dismissing the claim and saying any attempt to breach its territorial integrity will be rebuffed. Experts say the heightened tensions may trigger several infiltration attempts, both by land and sea.

Boats or vessels from the neighbouring country caught near India’s shores always raises an alarm because armed terrorists used the water route to get to Mumbai from Pakistan before launching a devastating attack on India’s financial capital in 2008 that killed 166 people.