India's Supreme Court Friday allowed a federal anti-terror agency to investigate the alleged killing of two fishermen by two Italian marines despite objections by the Italian government, news reports said. Italy had argued against the National Investigation Agency probing the case which has so far been investigated by the police, NDTV news channel reported.
The marines Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre are accused of killing two fishermen off the coast of Kerala in February 2012 when they were deployed on an Italian oil tanker, after mistaking the fishermen for pirates. The case had sparked a diplomatic row between Italy and India after the Supreme Court allowed the two marines to return home to vote in Italy's general elections in February and Italy said they would not return.
The two men returned to India on March 22 and Italy said it received assurances from the Indian government that they would not face the death penalty. The Indian government on April 1 had reassigned the investigation to the federal agency which was formed in 2009 to combat terrorism.
It is also tasked with dealing with criminal offences at sea within India's territorial jurisdiction. The National Investigation Agency is an autonomous body, while the police in India come under the state and federal governments. Italy has maintained that India has no jurisdiction over the case because the incident took place in international waters, which India denies. The marines were earlier facing trial in Kerala state. The Supreme Court, on an appeal filed by the marines and the Italian government, had ruled in January that Kerala had no authority to investigate or try the case. The Supreme Court has ordered the setting up of a special tribunal to try the marines who are currently on bail and lodged at the Italian Embassy premises in New Delhi.