Fishermen associations have demanded that the Union and State governments register criminal cases against the Sri Lankan Navy personnel for allegedly killing four Tamil Nadu fishermen. They urged the Indian government to bring the bodies back and demanded that the post-mortem done under the supervision of Tamil Nadu government doctors.
The four fishermen put out to the sea from Kottaipattinam on January 18 in a mechanised boat, belonging to Arockia Sesu. However, the Sri Lankan Navy said the boat collided with its surveillance ship, killing all the fishermen.
Speaking to The Hindu, S.R. Sesu Raja, a fishermen association leader, said the fishermen had lost everything over the last 10 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown. As they were returning to sea just now, the Sri Lankan Navy started targeting them.
Only last month had the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 36 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and detained them in quarantine camps. They were freed after agitations. Even before their return home, the Sri Lankan Navy attacked the fishermen again. “This is nothing but murder,” Mr. Sesu Raja said.
The fishermen had been patient thus far, he said. “If the Sri Lankan Navy continue to attack us, we may have to examine the alternatives. Unless there is an assurance, the fishermen will abstain from work,” he said.
At a demonstration held at Thangachimadam, the fishermen said they might even stop the bus services to their hamlets from Ramanathapuram to draw the attention of the governments.
