50 fishermen hurt in Lankan Navy 'attack'

Fifty fishermen from Tamil Nadu were injured when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan Naval personnel while fishing off Katchathivu island, Fisheries department officials on Sunday.

The officials said the naval personnel in eight patrol boats intercepted about 200 fishermen in 130 boats off Katchathivu (an island ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974), assaulted them and took away their catch, their Global Positioning systems and batteries on

Saturday night.

They however did not say how many of them have been hospitalised.

Fishermen Association president P Jeysu said each of the affected boat owners had suffered losses of about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.

The attack on the 50 fishermen comes close on the heels of the death of a 55-year-old fisherman, Chellappan, after he along with three others from Tamil Nadu were "tortured" allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel off Kodiakarai coast on July 7.