KARAIKAL: A total of 12 fishermen from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu onboard a mechanised boat were allegedly assaulted and robbed of their equipment by the Sri Lankan navy southeast of Kodiyakarai late night on Tuesday. The Indian Navy administered first aid before seeing the fishermen off to safety on Wednesday. According to sources, the group of fishermen comprising five from Karaikal, five from Mayiladuthurai district and two from Nagapattinam district put out to sea onboard mechanised boat 'Mala' from Karaikal fishing harbour on Monday.
"Around midnight, we spotted a Sri Lankan navy vessel approaching us. We realised danger was in store. We cut off our fishing nets then and tried to flee deeper into Indian waters. They, however, fired at us and caught up with us. They boarded our vessel and assaulted us," said S Ivas (25) of Kilinjalmedu in Karaikal, who was part of the group.
The navy personnel also took the fishermen's catch and their equipment. Besides dismantling the engine components and taking them along, the personnel also took away our mobile phones, rice and even our slippers, the fishermen said. The fishermen then contacted their compatriots who were in another vessel for assistance. The latter, in turn, reached out to the Indian Navy, which was patrolling nearby.
The personnel aboard vessel INS Baratang soon came to their help. An Indian Navy official told TNIE, "We took the fishermen on board and administered first aid. After ensuring that the fishermen could help themselves back to the shore, we saw them off." The fishermen returned to shore around 4 pm on Wednesday. A fisheries department official in Karaikal said, "There will be a joint investigation by the fisheries department and law enforcement agencies into the incident in the coming days."