Twelve fishermen were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan Naval personnel in two separate incidents when they were fishing off the Tamil Nadu coast, officials said.
Sri Lankan naval personnel allegedly beat the four fishermen with nylon ropes off Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Lanka in the 1970s, fisheries department officials said.
As many as 86 Indian fishermen have been arrested and their 10 fishing boats seized by the Sri Lanka Navy for allegedly poaching in the country's waters, naval officials said on Friday.
The naval personnel in five boats surrounded the boats of the fishermen and pelted stones at them, forcing them to leave the area without fishing on Wednesday night, the sources said.
The Lankan naval personnel cut fishing nets of about 70 boats and pelted stones and bottles forcing more than 2,000 fishermen to flee and return to the shore on Thursday morning.
The officials said the naval personnel in eight patrol boats intercepted about 200 fishermen in 130 boats off Katchathivu (an island ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974), assaulted them and took away their catch, their Global Positioning systems and batteries on Saturday night.
The arrest came as the group was departing Point Pedro in the northern Jaffna peninsula, Naval spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said, adding that among the arrested, 38 were men, 28 women and 14 children.
In yet another attack, an Indian fisherman was on Thursday injured when Sri Lankan naval personnel allegedly fired at some fishing boats off Kodiakarai coast, about 200 km from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, fisheries department officials said.
A group of fishermen from Tamil Nadu were on Tuesday allegedly attacked by Sri Lankan naval men while they were fishing near Katchatheevu, fisheries department officials said. The fishermen from this coastal area had ventured for fishing in 20 boats, officials said, adding, the Lankan naval men allegedly attacked them with ropes and steel pipes causing extensive damage to their fishing nets and communication equipment.
Four fishermen were injured on Thursday when they were attacked, allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel, while they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits. Sticks, bottles and stones were allegedly hurled by the Lankan naval personnel at the fishermen and their boats also suffered damage in the attack.
Eight fishermen of Sri nearby coastal Vedaranyam village were injured when they were allegedly attacked by Lankan naval personnel in mid-sea off Arukattuthurai in Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning, officials said.
Five fishermen were injured when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel near Katchathivu islet near the island nation. They were part of a group of 2,788 fishermen who had gone out to sea in 697 boats yesterday, fisheries department officials said.
Thirty Indian fishermen were injured when they were attacked at mid-sea off Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel, and their catch was taken away. Fisheries department officials said three Sri Lankan naval boats surrounded the fishermen while they were fishing in mid-sea on Monday night and beat them up, injuring 30 of them, besides damaging their boats by throwing stones.
The navy said that so far the 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil it was carrying had not been affected by the fire.
The fishermen had not ventured into the sea for the past one week in protest against levying of tax on prawn import by the United States.
Twelve fishermen were injured and 20 boats damaged when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel for fishing in their territorial waters.
A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday ordered the release of 56 Indian fishermen who were detained for allegedly fishing in the island nation's territorial waters.
Nine fishermen from Tamil Nadu were set free by Sri Lankan authorities on Saturday within hours of being detained by the island nation's navy off Dhanushkodi near Rameshwaram, officials said. The fishermen were fishing in Indian waters when the Sri Lankan naval men allegedly assaulted them using rubber pipes and wood before taking them away in their boats, they said.
In the second such incident this week, 8 Tamil Nadu fishermen were on Thursday injured and 13 boats damaged when Sri Lankan Naval personnel allegedly attacked them near the International Maritime Boundary Line near Katchatheevu, officials said.
'Jail was very crowded, we were 56 people crammed together. All 56 of us had to use only one toilet'
Sixteen fishermen from Rameswaram were injured in an alleged mid-sea attack by Sri Lankan naval personnel while fishing near the International Maritime Boundary Line in Palk Strait, the police said on Sunday.
At least 34 Indian fishermen have been arrested and their boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in the country's waters, authorities in Colombo said on Tuesday.
The Panama registered tanker New Diamond was carrying 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil from Kuwait to India when its engine room caught fire off the coast of Sangamankanda in the eastern district of Ampara, Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Capt Indika Silva said.
Voicing concern over Tamil Nadu fishermen being caught by Sri Lankan navy, the Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and state government on petitions filed by Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam members of Parliament for release of those languishing in jails there.
Slamming New Delhi's "meek and passive approach" over the arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu government has said the Centre cannot remain a "mute spectator" and asked to condemn the island navy's action in the "strongest terms."
Seeking strong diplomatic action from the Centre for release of 28 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday said the Centre should "not" treat the International Maritime Boundary Line with the island nation as a settled question, as it is a subject matter of litigation in the Supreme Court.
Barely weeks before he turned 22, a young fisherman was shot, allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy.
In a letter to PM Modi, Jayalalithaa referred to the arrest of four Indian fishermen and pointed out that this was the third such incident since May 31.
Over 5,000 fishermen from various hamlets in the district on Thursday commenced on an indefinite strike protesting the arrest of their fellow fishermen belonging to Akkaraipettai off Kodiakarai coast by the Sri Lankan navy.
Over 5,000 fishermen from various hamlets in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu on Thursday started an indefinite strike to protest the arrest of their fellow fishermen belonging to Akkaraipettai off Kodiakarai coast by the Sri Lankan Navy.
In the wake of arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking laying down a time-bound action plan to achieve a "long-term, permanent solution to the problem and also to put in place a strong and robust diplomatic response".
'The minister said we should stop fishing near the shore and start going for deep sea fishing.'
During a virtual meeting of the joint working group on fisheries on Friday, both countries agreed that the use of force could not be justified under any circumstances.
Eight fishermen were injured in separate incidents of attack allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing off Kodiakarai coast, fisheries department officials said on Thursday.
Coastal police stations and police chiefs have been alerted about suspicious vessels.
Protesting the repeated "onslaughts" by the Sri Lankan Navy against Tamil Nadu fishermen, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday sought the immediate intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure the release of the arrested fishermen.
The Sri Lankan government on Friday reached out to fishermen community of Tamil Nadu as President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother and economic development minister Basil met their delegation here with a promise of addressing their concerns.
Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 53 Indian fishermen in the last 24 hours for allegedly entering its waters illegally, prompting India to summon Lankan deputy high commissioner in New Delhi.
Six Tamil Nadu fishermen were injured on Tuesday when they were allegedly attacked by the Sri Lankan navy which briefly detained 13 others near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits.
Assistant Director of Fisheries, Veeran, said the Lankan Navy had informed them through the Coast Guard that the fishermen had landed there by accident on Sunday, and they were to be released on Monday after being found innocent.
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