2 Tamil Nadu fishermen injured in firing by Sri Lankan navy

Mangalore Today News Network

Chennai, Nov 17, 2016: Two fishermen were rushed to a hospital after the Sri Lankan navy fired at a fishing boat near Nagapattinam in south Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, reports said.

The two men, who come from Nagapattinam and Karaikal in the southern state, were rushed to Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research hospital in neighbouring Puducherry with bullet injuries, reports said.

It is after a lull of several weeks that Lankan soldiers have targeted Indian fishermen. Arrests of Indian fishermen, seizure of their boats and firing at them are a sore point between the two countries which are holding talks on the matter in New Delhi.

According to reports, nine men were fishing off the coast of Nagapattinam when Lankan navy shot at them. The fishermen hid in the boat but two of them were hit.

“We had gone to the sea on Sunday night and after two days when we were returning, we were asked to slow down by Sri Lankan navy persons. When we did not, they began firing,” Kartik, one of the fishermen, told media.

Sri Lankan accuses Indian fishermen of entering its territorial waters. While fishermen are released after sometime, their boats are confiscated, dealing a blow to their livelihood.