Eight fishermen were injured in separate incidents of attack allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing off Kodiakarai coast, fisheries department officials said today.
Four fishermen, who had put to sea in a fibreglass boat from Vanavanmahadevi near Nagapattinam, were attacked allegedly by Lankan Navy personnel with wooden logs when they were fishing few knots south east off Kodiakarai last night, Gunasekaran, Assistant Director of Fisheries, Nagapattinam said.
They also seized their catch and threw it into the sea, he said, adding, the fishermen reached the shore this afternoon and were admitted to government hospital with injuries.
Officials said in the other incident, four fishermen of Vellapallam fishing hamlet near Vedaranyam in the district were allegedly attacked while fishing off Kodiakarai coast yesterday and their catch was destroyed.
The fishermen, who managed to reach the shore this morning, have been admitted with injuries to a government hospital.
Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan court today ordered the release of 19 Indian fishermen, who were arrested by Lankan Navy on March 13 for allegedly fishing in that country's waters, while another court extended up to April 19 remand of 26 Indian fishermen from Karaikal, arrested on April 5 for allegedly violating Sri Lanka's international maritime boundary.
The case relating to the arrest of 30 fishermen from Rameswaram on April 6 has been been posted for hearing on April 18, officials said.
The release of the Indians eased tension as fishermen in Rameswaram had launched agitations, including boycotting fishing, seeking their release, local fishermen association representatives said.
The navy had last week arrested 56 Tamil fishermen on charges of poaching in the Sri Lankan waters.
