Three more fishermen from Nagapattinam district were allegedly attacked and robbed of their belongings, by a group of unidentified persons mid-sea, late on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, while they were fishing several nautical miles away from the Kodiyakkarai coast.
The three fishermen managed to return to the Vedaranyam coast on Wednesday morning. Police identified them as Vaithiyanathaswamy, Selvaraj, and Ramaraj, all natives of Vellapallam, who had ventured into the sea for fishing on August 21.
Police sources said six unidentified persons in two boats intercepted the fishermen mid-sea, around 15 nautical miles from Kodiyakkarai around midnight. They allegedly attacked the fishermen using wooden logs and stole their signal lights, Global Positioning System (GPS) gadgets, mobile phones, and fish.
In another incident, a group of 10 unidentified persons reportedly damaged the fishing nets of four fishermen.
This is the second such incident reported this week: in separate incidents on the night of Monday, August 21, 2023, fishermen from Vellapallam and Arcotthurai coastal villages, alleged that they had been assaulted by a group of unidentified persons mid-sea, some nautical miles southeast of the Arcottuthurai coastal village. Fifteen persons suffered injuries in the assault and are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam.
Sources in the Coastal Security Group said four separate cases have been filed against 30 “Sri Lankan Nationals” under section 397 (Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.
