Italy's action unacceptable, Manmohan Singh says

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said Italy's refusal to send back two naval guards facing trial in India is "unacceptable". The Prime Minister has said that he will look into the matter.
Manmohan Singh told the Left MPs that he will ask external affairs minister Salman Khurshid to take up the issue with Italy. Italian naval guards Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, accused of killing two Indian fishermen, were being tried in India. The naval guards were permitted by the Supreme Court to go to Italy for four weeks for voting in last month's election. Earlier they were allowed to go home for Christmas holidays after which they returned to India on expiry of their leave. On January 18, the apex court had turned down the Italian government's plea that the Indian courts had no jurisdiction in the case and had held that the two marines should be tried by the Centre by constituting a special court to conduct their trial. Meanwhile, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy will convey the state government's "serious" concern over Italy's decision on the two naval guards charged with shooting dead two fishermen off Kerala coast in February last. According to the Chief Minister's office, Chandy would write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing the state's disappointment over the new twist in the case. Chandy, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Tuesday, would also try to meet Singh and other central leaders to convey the state's resentment, sources said. Opposition parties including CPM and BJP blamed the Centre and the state government for the development, saying it amounted to denial of justice to the victims' families. CPM Politburo member and former Kerala home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan alleged that some foul play from behind the curtains by the state and central governments sabotaged the case. BJP leader PS Sreedharan Pillai said the Centre should take a strong stand on the issue to protect the country's sovereignity. Dora, wife of Jelastine, one of the two fishermen killed when the marines opened fire from the ship Enrica Lexie, said there was a "conspiracy" to save the accused which should be exposed. The Italian government had on Monday night said the naval guards, Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone, will not return to India. The Italian foreign ministry accused Indian authorities of violating international rights by detaining the naval guards and said it was "open" to let an international arbitrator to assess the case, according to an official statement. -->