The Sri Lankan navy opened fire at Tamil Nadu fishermen on Thursday whilst they were engaged in fishing near the waters of Dhanushkodi off the coast of the Pamban island.
The Sri Lankan Navy, which was patrolling the sea at the time, used a loudspeaker and threatened to arrest the more than 20 fishermen who were on the spot, allegedly for violating the maritime boundary between India and Sri Lanka.
The fishermen feared arrest and began to rush hastily back to the shores. At this point, the Sri Lankan Navy opened fire at the Tamil Nadu fishermen, who are citizens of India.
Although nobody had died from the attack, it caused significant damage to the equipment of the fishermen.
The motorboats belonging to Limbert and Collins from Pamban and Kirubai from Thangachi Madam suffered heavily from the fire attacks unleashed by the Sri Lankan navy. They have lost equipment worth between Rs. 50,000 to 100,000.
Following the incident, Rameswaram Fisheries Department and Indian intelligence officials are conducting inquiries with Limbert about the firing attacks by the Sri Lankan navy.
The fishermen started venturing into the sea following the end of the official seasonal ban on the activity recently. They have entered the waters thrice since the beginning of the fishing season, and they have been attacked by the Sri Lankan navy all three times.
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