Tamil fishermen attacked with wooden logs by Lankan Navy

Four fishermen from Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district were allegedly attacked by Sri Lankan Navy personnel with wooden logs while they were fishing off Kodiakarai coast in a mechanised boat, official sources said on Thursday.

The fishermen, who went for fishing on Wednesday, returned on Thursday morning. They have been admitted to a government hospital with injuries.

The fishermen -- Selvam, Mariappan, Vijayakuamr and Soundirarajan – belong to the Vellapallam fishing hamlet. They were fishing about four nautical miles south-east off Kodiakarai on Wednesday when the Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrived there in a speed boat and attacked them with wooden logs, besides destroying their catch, they added.

The navy had last week arrested 56 Tamil fishermen on charges of poaching in Sri Lankan waters.