ICG men booked for firing at fishermen

In the alleged shooting incident two of the fishermen, Pichai and Johnson, had suffered injuries and they were admitted to the Rameswaram GH. Meanwhile, fishermen leaders had held a meeting in Rameswaram. They adopted a resolution to hold a protest on Wednesday. The members then informed that they also have plans to stage a protest at the Rameswaram bus stand on Thursday, condemning the shooting incident.

However, the ICG denied the shooting incident for the second day. In a press statement, they said that the boat was involved in paired trawling which is not allowed in the country. On seeing the ICG ship they tried to move away. However, the boat was caught after 50 minutes. The fishermen in it were warned for not stopping for security checks. 

No fishermen had been fired upon by any ICG ship and no injuries had been inflicted. The entire shooting episode claimed by the fishermen might have been stage managed to divert the original issue of using paired trawling and not stopping when directed, said a release issued by the ICG. 

Two outfits have condemned the ICG for opening fire at fishermen. They want to know what the Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has to say on this. 

Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader MH Jawahirullah also condemned the incident. “It is pertinent to note that the fishermen had ventured into the sea after a 5-day strike they had observed owing to non-payment of relief measure after assurances from a Minister. Would it be a case of the force being emboldened to carry out the attack since it was confident that this government would not fight for its denizens,” he said. He demanded that necessary action must be taken against the ICG personnel involved in the incident. May 17 Movement also came out with a strongly worded statement which wanted to know the agenda of the force which is led by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.