India's Home Affairs Ministry turns the case over to the National Investigation Agency, which deals with national security matters. For Anup Surendranath, an expert in constitutional law, "Indians are not angry with the marines, but they feel betrayed by the way the Italian government behaved."

New Delhi (AsiaNews) - India's decision to transfer the case of the Italian marines to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) "will surely lead to a positive development of the situation," said Anup Surendranath. Speaking to AsiaNews, the assistant professor at the National Law University in Delhi, the move is "a step in the right direction" because "we will able to establish the truth once and for all, without political pressure. No one hates the marines but we need to get the facts."

On 1 April, the Indian Home Affairs Ministry handed the case over to the NIA, which handles national security issues, a decision that "stems from a desire to see things clearly," the expert said. "It is possible that the results presented by the Kerala police were influenced by political pressure. Thus, it was decided to put everything in the hands of NIA, which is not is subject to state controls and is politically independent."

According to Surendranath, "the NIA will investigate the case again, and might examine the reports by Kerala police but will not be limited by them." The goal "is to find new evidence and reach more thorough and reliable conclusions," Surendranath explained. The trial that will follow will be based exclusively on what the agency finds.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India yesterday dropped the restraining order it had imposed on Daniele Mancini, Italian Ambassador in New Delhi, after Rome had refused to return the marines to India at the end of their special leave, a decision that exacerbated tensions between the two countries, particularly in the population.

For the expert, "a general feeling of impatience prevails among the Indians. People were upset by Italy, which first pledged to return the marines, then changed its mind and then went back to its first pledge. They felt betrayed. This does not justify in any way the action taken against the Italian ambassador, but it does show that this 'anger', if we want to call it that, stems from the behaviour of the Italian government. It has nothing to do with the two soldiers."

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