DUBAI — Dubai’s police chief has rejected US claims that a navy ship warned Indian fishermen to move away from it before firing and killing one of them after they failed to heed the order, media reported on Thursday.



The fisherman died and three others were wounded on Monday when the ship opened fire on their vessel near the port of Jebel Ali off Dubai in the tense waters of the southern Gulf.



The “Indian fishermen were not warned to move away by the US Navy,” Gen. Dahi Khalfan said, according to Khaleej Times daily.



“The crew ... told the Dubai police that they did not move toward the ship and instead attempted to avoid it. According to our findings and testimonies of the injured, I believe that they told the truth,” the daily quoted Khalfan as saying.



On Tuesday, India urged the UAE to investigate the shooting.

Khalfan criticized the way the US ship had dealt with the incident, saying it had moved into international waters right after the shooting. Dubai police will deal with the case as a “murder,” he said.



US defense officials said the fishing boat had ignored warnings not to approach the refueling ship USNS Rappahannock, and that sailors on board the American vessel feared it could pose a threat. — AFP