Chennai: More than 30 fishermen from the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu were attacked by pirates while fishing off the Coromandel coast. Authorities said that 17 fishermen received injuries. Some of them had to be admitted to the District Government Hospital.
The fishermen claimed that the attackers were from Sri Lanka. This comes at a time when fishermen’s unions in Tamil Nadu are protesting against the high-handedness of the Sri Lankan Navy that allegedly attacks their members near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) regularly. Several fishermen from the state are behind the bars in Sri Lanka on charges of crossing the IMBL. Some of them were released as a goodwill gesture during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country recently.
The injured fishermen claimed that Sri Lankan pirates attack them often, even when they are fishing well within Indian territory.
“The Sri Lankan Navy is quick to take action if one or two of our boats stray across the IMBL inadvertently. However, they look the other way when the pirates cross over the IMBL and attack us. The central and state governments need to look into this,” an injured fisherman said.
A group of fishermen had apparently set out in a fibre boat and were fishing southeast of Kodiyakkarai, within what they claimed to be Indian territorial waters, when six men in a speedboat approached them. The attackers allegedly assaulted them with sharp weapons, causing serious injuries.
It has also been alleged that the pirates looted GPS equipment and fishing nets, valued at around Rs 10 lakh, before proceeding to attack several other boats in the area.
The fishermen have threatened to go on an indefinite strike if the matter is not resolved soon.
A similar incident was reported in December 2024. Three fishermen from the state had suffered deep cut injuries after being attacked by Sri Lankan pirates. Fishermen claim that they are now scared to go out to sea in small numbers. They have demanded more patrolling by Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy ships to keep the criminals at bay.
