In a fresh round of mid-sea assault carried out on fishermen of the district by their Sri Lankan counterparts on Tuesday morning, five fishermen were seriously injured and admitted to the GH here on Tuesday evening.
The victims allege that the Lankan fishermen attacked them with sharp weapons and rubberised sticks, besides hurling a petrol bomb at them.
Sources said five fishermen, including Renganathan (36) son of Rajamanickam, Vimalraj (18) son of Chinaan, Singaram (23) son of Aarumugam, Mahadevan (34) son of Ezhumalai, Desingh (26) son of Rajamanickam, all from Perumalpettai fishing hamlet in Tharangambadi taluk had ventured into sea on Monday morning from the Karaikal fishing harbour in the fibre glass boat of Renganathan. As the fishermen were stationed 30 nautical miles off the Vedaranyam coast, a group of 12 Sri Lankan fishermen in two boats approached them and started assaulting them. All were injured as the petrol bomb exploded, and Mahadevan’s left hand was badly injured.
The injured men with the help of Poompuhar fishermen, managed to reach Nagapattinam shores, and were admitted to the GH here. The victims claimed that their catch, fishing gear and GPS equipment were snatched away by the assailants.