Nagai fishermen allege mid-sea harassment by Lankan Navy

Eight fishermen in two groups had ventured into the sea in two separate fibreglass boats. While Sakthibalan (20), Sakthidasan (20), Kathiravan and Arun Kumar (20) went into the sea on a boat owned by Sasikumar, another group, Arumugam (40), Thangavel (35), Suntharam (40) and Vedhaiyan (38) took the boat of Arumugam to the sea. The Nagapattinam men were reportedly fishing in the sea off Kodiyakarai when strong winds pushed them into Sri Lankan waters around 5 am on Tuesday. 

By the time they realised that they had moved into the island nation limits, the Sri Lankan Navy in patrol boats reached the spot and surrounded them. Though the fishermen told that they accidentally entered their waters, the Lankan navy personnel refused to buy their explanation.  

“Suddenly, they started assaulting us with cables, hurled ice blocks at us, damaged the nets and flung them into the water,” the fishermen said. Later the fishermen were warned not to trespass into Lankan waters and were allowed to leave the spot. 

After reaching the Arcotuthurai jetty, the fishermen lodged a complaint with the Coast Guard about their confrontation with Lankan navy personnel. Coast Guard personnel are investigating into the complaint.