NAGAPATTINAM: The attacks and robberies on Indian fishermen by assailants from Sri Lanka continues, as four from Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district were brutally assaulted on Tuesday evening, January 25, 2022.
The fishers who hail from Nagapattinam's Ariyanaatutheru fishing hamlet were fishing in a motorized boat at about 15 nautical miles from Kodiyakarai (Point Calimere) when they were assaulted and robbed by an armed group of 'unidentified assailants on Tuesday around 6 pm.
According to the fishermen, the eight assailants allegedly from Sri Lanka, who had come in two motorized boats, confronted the fishers and demanded them to hand over their equipment. When the fishers resisted, the assailants, who were more in number, assaulted them brutally with lethal weapons.
The fisher K Vasanthabalan (24) was injured critically in his left arm, K Thillainathan (26), M Manikandan (25).and S Nirmal (24) sustained head and internal injuries. After subduing the fishers, the assailants took the boat engine, fishing nets, inverter battery, lights and their fish catch from the fishing boat.
The injured fishers barely made a return trip with their sails. They landed at Arukatuthurai near Vedaranyam at around 10.30 pm. The fishers were rushed to Vedaranyam Government General Hospital for first-aid. As the injuries were ghastly, they were referred to Government Medical College Hospital in Tiruvarur and Government General Hospital in Nagapattinam.
The attack on Nagapattinam district fishermen was the third this week and fourth in this month. On Monday, eleven fishers from Pushpavanam village were assaulted and robbed in two similar attacks by Lankan assailants.
A case has been registered in Vedaranyam Marine Police Station, against the Sri Lankan assailants. Further investigations are underway.