The incident took place near the internal boundary line in the Gulf of Mannar area. (representative image)
Chennai:
A fisherman from Tamil Nadu was injured in the middle of the sea in Palk Bay when the Indian Navy opened fire on his boat for failing to stop his boat. The Indian Navy said in a statement that despite repeated warnings, shots were fired after the boat stopped and standard operating procedures or concessions were followed by its personnel.
Police said the condition of the fisherman is stated to be stable and he is out of danger.
A police officer told NDTV, “We are probing the incident. We understand that the firing took place along the internal border line in the Gulf of Mannar.”
PMK chief Dr P Ramdas has demanded Rs 25 lakh compensation for the fisherman.
Incidents of firing and strikes at sea have long troubled Tamil Nadu fishermen, who usually face attacks from the Sri Lankan Navy. In the past few decades, over 600 Indian fishermen have been killed by shrapnel fired by the Lankan Navy.
The reduction in the number of fish in Indian waters due to over-exploitation is often cited as a reason for Indian fishing boats entering Lankan waters.
Although attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy have stopped, the Lankan government has started auctioning confiscated Indian boats out of the policy of returning them after due legal process. In addition to attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, there have been instances of their nets being confiscated or damaged.
Tamil Nadu has been demanding from Sri Lanka the retrieval of Katchatheevu Island, which was gifted by India to the island nation in the seventies. This many say will at least increase the permissible fishing area.
Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had mooted the idea of a long-term lease agreement between India and Sri Lanka to allow Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters.