Protests are ongoing in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram districts against the mid-sea attack on four fishermen by unidentified assailants. The fishermen, Pradeep (34), Prakash (32), Praveen (30), and Thirumurugan (27) were attacked at sea near Point Calimere by seven assailants who also allegedly robbed them. When the fishermen initially refused to part with their belongings, they were assaulted and sustained injuries. According to The Hindu, the attackers stole fishing nets, mobile phones, a GPS device, and fish worth Rs 50,000.
The Hindu further reports that the attackers were familiar with Tamil, according to the ambushed fishermen. A report by IANS says that the attackers were allegedly Sri Lankan. The attack occurred on Friday, September 21, but the fishermen reportedly returned to land only on Sunday.
The Fishermen Association of Nagapattinam president Soundaraajan reportedly told IANS that currently, protests are taking place in two districts only. Still, all of the fishermen in Tamil Nadu would join the protest if the governments -- state and Union--do not take appropriate action against those who indulged in attacking Indian fishermen.
RMP Rajendira Nattar, president of the Indian National Fishermen Union reportedly told media persons that the Union government was silent on such attacks and called upon the Sri Lankan government to take action against such assailants since that country is friendly with India.
In a similar attack in August this year, fishermen from Nagapattinam, who were at deep sea, were attacked by sea pirates, allegedly from Sri Lanka. Also in January 2022, three fishermen from Nagapattinam sustained injuries in a mid-sea attack off the Kodiakarai coast in the early morning hours. The fishermen had at the time complained of an attack by Sri Lankan pirates to the Vedaranyam Coastal Security Group (CSG) police.
With inputs from IANS