Boat with arms found in Raigad, security scare in Maharashtra

A boat with three AK-47 rifles and bullets was found off the Raigad coast in Maharashtra on Thursday triggering a security alert.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters that the boat belonged to an Australian woman and it was captained by her husband.

He added that the boat which was sailing from Muscat to Europe had made a distress call on June 26, 2022 after its engine broke down. The crew was rescued by a nearby Korean Navy ship and handed over to Oman authorities.

The boat couldn't be towed back to the shore back then because of high tide and it drifted its way to Maharashtra coast, the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister said, adding that the Indian Coast Guard has confirmed the details.

A high alert is still in place in the state and checkpoints have been set up at several locations because of the upcoming festival season.

Fadnavis said that even though there has been no confirmation of a terror angle, they are not ruling out any possibility.