Fredy Bosco admits to hiring Prijin before firing incident

By: N V Ravindranathan Nair
KOLLAM: The owner and captain of fishing vessel St Anthony that was involved in the Enrica Lexie case said Prijin A used to work for him, but denied the boy was on the boat when it was fired upon in February 2012.
Speaking to TOI over the phone from Poothurai, Fredy Bosco said he used to hire the boy, one of his relatives, whenever there was a shortage of hands. The boy’s father, Antony Pillai, too, used to work for Fredy.
TOI had reported on Friday that Prijin’s family had approached the central government seeking a compensation of Rs 100 crore from the Republic of Italy.
The family had claimed that Prijin, then aged 14, was part of the fishing crew, when Italian navy marines aboard Enrica Lexie fired at the boat, killing two. It was alleged that Fredy shifted the boy to another boat mid-sea, before proceeding to Neendakara harbour. The boat with Prijin reached the Kerala coast two days after St Anthony’s arrival, his mother and sisters claimed.
The family said Prijin was an assistant cook on the boat. Fredy kept the name of Prijin under wraps, fearing criminal proceedings for employing a minor. There were reports that Fredy had admitted it to some media persons in Kollam.
The boy’s family claimed that he had slipped into severe depression after the incident and committed suicide on July 2, 2019.
On Prijin’s suicide, Fredy offered a different motive. He said a love affair with a girl from a rich family led to his suicide.
“The girl's family was opposing to their relationship. The day before his suicide, the girl’s uncle had a quarrel with the boy. Prijin’s mother, who got angry over the affair, also scolded him,” Fredy said.
The man said he suffered the most following the incident. While the families of the two fishermen were given Rs 1 crore each, he got only Rs 17 lakh. Of the Rs 17 lakh, he shared Rs 8 lakh with the other eight fish workers and used some for repairing his boat. During the Okhi disaster, he lost a boat and incurred huge lose.
“Following Okhi, I decided to stop fishing and started a small fabric shop adjacent to my house on my wife’s advice,” he said.
Peter Mathias, state president of All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association said that they had no knowledge about the presence of the minor boy in the fishing vessel involved in the case.
He also added that what happened to the fishermen and boat owner was unfortunate, and the country could not bring justice to their families.