A fisherman was killed and two others injured off Kodiakarai coast in Nagapattinam district, in what is believed to be another attack on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Reports quoting fisheries department officials said the man died after Sri Lankan Naval personnel tied a rope around his neck and pushed him into the sea. He had set out with two others on Saturday from the Pushpavanam coastal hamlet.
The survivors said a Lankan naval patrol boat intercepted their boat and ordered them to jump into the sea. The two injured returned on Sunday morning with the body and were admitted to a hospital.
New Delhi said the killing of the second Indian fisherman in less than a fortnight was unacceptable and sought a report from its mission in Colombo.
In Chennai, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee asked Sri Lankan defence forces not to fire on the Indian fishermen. “There is no point in shooting them (Indian fishermen),” he told reporters after meeting Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi at his residence to discuss the issue.
Mukherjee asked the Sri Lankan Navy to desist from firing on Indian fishermen and said if they (the Indian fishermen) had done something wrong (like crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line), they should be apprehended and due procedures followed.
The minister said he had assured Karunanidhi he would take up the matter with the foreign ministry, which in turn would raise it with Lankan authorities to ensure such incidents did not recur . “I am told that in the last 10 days two fishermen (from Tamil Nadu) have been killed. We have good relations with Sri Lanka and are helping them,” the Finance Minister said.
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