NAGAPATTINAM: Sri Lankan Navy reportedly opened fire on Indian fishermen off Point Calimere on the Vedaranyam coast in Nagapattinam in the early hours of Thursday and chased away four fishermen after throwing away their fish catch and destroying their fishing net.
An official of the Fisheries department told The Hindu on Friday that they received a complaint from four fishermen – Sasibalan (27), Karikalan (18), Silabarasan (16) and Murugesan (25) of Kodiakarai– that they ventured into the sea in a boat on October 16 and while fishing in the Indian waters, the Sri Lankan navy reportedly opened fire at them by chasing from their boat. The fishermen, however escaped without any injury but the boat was damaged.
He said the Lankan navy personnel allegedly attacked them with sticks and destroyed the fishing net and threw away the fish caught by them in the sea. The Sri Lankan navy reportedly warned them not to cross the Indian waters. The four fishermen immediately escaped from the scene and came to the shore in their damaged boat on Thursday afternoon.
This is the second incident of reported attack by Sri Lankan navy on the fishermen of Nagapattinam district within a week. Three fishermen of Pushpavanam hamlet on the Vedaranyam coast were allegedly assaulted by Sri Lankan navy personnel off Point Calimere Saturday last. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard had stepped up its vigil on the 188-km coastline in Nagapattinam district.
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