Amid reports of frequent assaults on Tamil Nadu fishermen, seven persons from Karaikal were attacked by Sri Lankan Navy personnel late on Friday.
The fishermen were seriously injured and have been admitted to the government hospital here on Saturday.
The victims were identified as Raja, Veerababu, Vedhanayagam, Sathyanathan, Selvam, Kasiappan and Ramesh, all hailing from Kilinjalmedu fishing hamlet near here.
They had ventured into sea from the Karaikal fishing harbour in a fibre boat belonging to fisherman Raja of the same hamlet, in the early hours of Friday.
Sources said, while they were fishing 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kodiakkarai, the Sri Lankan Navy and a few fishermen from the island nation approached their boat and allegedly assaulted them with sharp weapons.
Fishermen Veerababu and Vedhanayagam suffered severe cut injuries in their arms and faces. Their catch was seized along with the fishing nets. The GPS instruments were also damaged before the Sri Lankan Navy left the spot.
Other fishermen in the vicinity managed to reach their injured counterparts and brought them to Karaikal on Saturday morning. As soon as they reached the shores, the injured were rushed to the government hospital here and were admitted to the intensive care unit.
On Friday, as many as 46 fishermen of Nagapattinam fishing hamlets had a narrow escape from being detained by the Lankan Navy, as they were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard, after holding talks with the former.
Karaikal North MLA PRN Thirumuragan and Karaikal South MLA AMH Nazeem visited the injured in the hospital here. The Coast Guard at Karaikal station and the Coastal police personnel launched investigations.
Meanwhile, a Pudukottai report said two fishermen from near Mimisal were rescued mid-sea as they were stranded after their boat developed a technical snag, while fishing on Saturday.
Kalidas and Saravanan, hailing from R Pudupattinam hamlet, ventured into sea in a fibre boat from Palakudi on Friday. Their boat developed a snag when they were 10 nautical miles off Mimisal, following which they contacted 1093, the coastal security helpline.