A fisherman from Nagapattinam district was injured in the head when the Sri Lankan Navy allegedly opened fire while he and others were fishing off the coast of Kodiyakarai. On July 28, ten fishermen from the Akkaraipettai and Keechankuppam hamlets set sail from Nagapattinam port in a mechanized boat, according to Nagapattinam fisheries department officials.
On Monday morning, while fishing in the sea southeast of the Kodiyakarai coast near the International Maritime Boundary Line, a fast craft of Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly opened fire on the boats fishing in the area, according to officials.
‘Many boats in the area were attacked by Sri Lankan Navy personnel. They began by throwing stones, then opened fire. One of the bullets struck our boat, piercing a partition and striking one of us, Kalaiselvan. He was knocked out by the bullet that scratched his head,’ one of the fishermen in the boat, Deepanraj, said.
‘We immediately turned our boat towards the coast and rushed Kalaiselvan to Nagapattinam GH. Since the bullet first pierced the boat before hitting him, he has escaped with head injuries,’ he added.
He emphasized that the Sri Lankan Navy allegedly opened fire on the fishermen while they were fishing within Indian territorial waters.
The injured fisherman was from the hamlet of Akkaraipettai in this district.
Dr. Arun Thamburaj, Nagapattinam District Collector, paid a visit to Nagapattinam GH and spoke with the affected fishermen. Officials from the Coastal Security Group, the Q branch, and the Fisheries Department are investigating. Tensions arose in the fishing hamlets of Nagapattinam district as a result of the incident.
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