Three fishermen from Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu were allegedly assaulted by a group of nine persons, suspected to be Sri Lankan nationals, while they were fishing mid-sea on the evening of Monday (August 27, 2024). They were allegedly robbed of their fishing gear and other belongings, Coastal Security Group (CSG) sources said.
The three fishermen, S. Thangadurai, 55, T. Manikanda Prabhu, 25, and T. Gangadharan, 38, who hail from the coastal village of Serudhur, had set sail on board a fibre boat on Monday morning.
They were fishing around 15 nautical miles east off the Kodiakarai coast at around 5.30 p.m. when nine persons on three fibre boats, said to be from Sri Lanka, intercepted their boat and allegedly assaulted them.
The group allegedly stole one of the boat engines, a GPS gadget, a mobile phone, a walkie-talkie, a battery, around 200 kg of fish, and fishing gear from the trio, said CSG sources.
The fishermen managed to return to Serudhur on Tuesday morning with one engine and narrated the incident to the CSG personnel.
The CSG personnel further said while Mr. Prabhu sustained a minor injury to his left thigh, the others showed no signs of external injury. The fishermen were sent to the Nagapattinam Government Hospital for examination.
