Porbandar, Dec 2: Fishermen in Gujarat have said that they had repeatedly written and warned the Indian Government of a probable misuse of captured Indian boats by terrorist elements in Pakistan.

With the investigations revealing the use of sea route by militants to infiltrate into India and carry out the terror attack in Mumbai, the fishermen said they had written several times to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi warning them of the possibility of misuse of seized Indian boats.

"We had repeatedly written to the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi that the 383 boats captured by Pakistan could be misused. Whatever has happened is a question of our national security. It is a matter of grave concern," said Jeevan Jungi, the Deputy Chief of the Gujarat Boat Association.

Fishermen are sometimes seen as the eyes and ears of the Coast Guard in India.

"We are now faced with a big question as to where do we now go for fishing. The incident has cast a shadow over our community. We appeal to the Indian Government to support the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy as much as possible. We will continue to support them, but the Government should also provide them with more powers," said Jeevan.

A group of heavily armed militants landed on November 26 at the "Gateway of India" in Mumbai and carried out one of the deadliest terror attacks in the history of India.

India has claimed that the militants who attacked Mumbai killing more than 180 people belonged to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (L-e-T) group.

According to official, the militants appeared to have dodged the coast guard by hijacking an Indian fishing trawler.

They are believed to have entered Mumbai from Pakistan via the sea route, sailing from Porbandar to Mumbai in ''Kuber'' an Indian fishing trailer that was later found abandoned in the Arabian Sea close to the Mumbai coast. (ANI)