Coast Guard DIG B.K. Loshali, who was facing an inquiry for publicly contradicting the government over the sinking of a Pakistani ship off Gujarat coast on New Year’s Eve, has been dismissed from service. Loshali kicked up a controversy after a recording of his speech at a gathering emerged in public, showing him contradicting the Centre’s official line on the sinking of the so-called terror boat off Gujarat coast on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said the “circumstantial evidence” indicated that the Pakistani boat had suspected terror links.

Dismissing claims that the occupants of boat were smugglers, the Minister had said he would classify them as “suspected or possible terrorists” since they had committed suicide after being intercepted and added that they were in touch with Pakistani maritime officials, “army and international contacts”.

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 he had ordered to blow off the boat, which was a major embarrassment for the government as well as the Coast Guard.

Let me tell you. I hope you remember 31st December night… we blew off that Pakistan… We have blown them off… I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani…” he reportedly said on February 15.

A Board of Inquiry at Mumbai was also constituted to look into the matter, which probed the matter for over three months and court martialed him.