That the two Italian marines, being tried for murder in India, will not return to the country came as a shock for many policemen in Kochi.
It was a smart move by the City Police that put marines Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone, who had fatally shot two Indian fishermen, behind the bars. They feel that all their efforts have gone in vain now.
A police officer who had been in the investigation team on the Enrica Lexie case said that he was quite surprised to hear that the marines would not return to India.
“At first, we were almost certain that the marines would be prosecuted. Former City Police Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar had a good team to investigate the case. The investigation was completed at a fast pace and the chargesheet was filed. But the whole case is lost with Italy deciding not to send the marines back to India. Now, we feel that all the good work done by the police has been wasted. If the Central Government had taken a firm stand, the case might have yielded positive results,” the police officer said.
Top police officials who were part of the investigation team said that they are very much disappointed with the fate of the case.
“It was due to the hard work of the Kerala police that the marines in Kerala were detained at least for one year. Our team did its best to leave no stone unturned. But after the Supreme Court denied the state government role in the case, all things started working out in favour of Italians. Their return to the country after Christmas vacation was a smart move to win the confidence of the Central Government,” a police officer said.