An Indian fisherman was killed and another injured by Pakistani Maritime Army fire after opening fire on a fishing boat in the Arabian Sea, police in the Indian state of Gujarat said.

Six other Indian fishermen were reportedly apprehended and handed over to Pakistani police.

Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) confirmed that “a few illegal Indian fishing boats” were intercepted in its eastern maritime region on November 5, but said it was not aware anyone had been killed by their coast guards.

Gujarat police confirmed the murder and said the fisherman’s body was found on Sunday.

“A fisherman from Maharashtra, who was on the fishing boat Jalpari, was killed after PMSA staff opened fire on him and other crew members on Saturday evening,” the police commissioner said. Devbhumi Dwarka, Sunil Joshi.

India has taken “serious note of the incident” and the government will address the issue diplomatically with the Pakistani side, a government source told Indian media in New Delhi.

The deceased fisherman has been identified as Sridhar Ramesh Chamre, 32, and his body was brought back to the port of Okha on Sunday in the Indian state of Gujarat in western India. A formal police complaint has been filed for the murder and investigations are ongoing.

“One of the boats named PADMANI KOPA not following the instructions was apprehended and was handed over to the police on November 6, 21 for further legal proceedings,” PMSA said in a statement Monday.

“The PMSA is not aware of any incidents in which anyone was killed or injured. Moreover, the official documents of the apprehended boat do not show the name claimed by some foreign media, ”added the agency, denying any knowledge of the incident.

Manish Lodhari, a fishery manager in Porbandar, said six fishermen aboard another fishing boat were taken hostage by Pakistan and the boat was seized.

Indian authorities have yet to release an official statement on the incident.

Jayantibhai Rathod, the owner of the boat on which a fisherman was killed, said Chamre was in the cabin of the boat when shots were fired at him.

“Three bullets hit him in the chest, as a result of which he died. The captain of the boat was also injured during indiscriminate fire by Pakistani personnel,” Rathod told reporters, according to the report. PTI Press Agency.

This is not the first incident where fishermen from both countries have been caught in the crosshairs of strained relations between India and Pakistan. More than 632 Indian and Pakistani fishermen remained imprisoned in the two countries, according to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

There are approximately 558 Indian fishermen currently detained in various Pakistani prisons and 74 Pakistani nationals are imprisoned in India.

Fishermen from both countries often end up crossing international borders. Sailors rely on GPS to identify territories but there is a good chance that it will malfunction due to bad weather conditions at sea.

Maharashtra Machimar Kriti Samiti – a forum for the welfare of fishworkers – and de Chamre’s family have denied that the boat entered international waters.

“My son was within Indian boundaries,” said Anusha Chamre, mother of slain fishermen. Chamre is survived by his wife and two daughters, aged 8 and 6.