4 Nagapattinam fishermen in hosp after Lankan Navy attack

TIRUCHY: The Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday attacked and injured four Nagapattinam fishermen, damaged their weapons and snatched their catches. The four men are currently undergoing treatment.

K Selvakumar (36), C Muruga Pandian (52), R Kathirvel (55) and S Raj (52), all hailing from Vanavan Mahadevi, ventured into the sea in Selvakumar's country boat (IND TN 06 MO 6644) on Tuesday evening.

While they were fishing at 15 nautical miles off the southeast of Kodiyakarai, a fast-track boat owned by the Sri Lankan Navy approached them and asked the fishermen to move from the particular spot. While they were readying to move, the Navy personnel had reportedly attacked them with wooden sticks.

As they were fastening the nets, a Navy personnel jumped into Selvakumar's boat and reportedly damaged their nets and threw away their food. They also reportedly took away their catches.

In the attack, all the fishermen sustained severe bruises, and they returned to the coast at Vanavan Mahadevi fishermen hamlet at around 11 am on Wednesday.

Upon reaching the shore, they passed on the information to the fishermen panchayat leaders, who rushed them to Nagapattinam Medical College Hospital, where they have been undergoing treatment. The Vedaranyam marine police registered a case and are investigating.