A fisherman who was on the high seas with three others and had gone missing after their boat capsized, allegedly after being hit by a Sri Lankan naval vessel on the night of January 12, was found dead at sea.
The news of his death prompted fishermen in Rameswaram to announce an indefinite strike in protest at what they called a “murderous attack” by the Sri Lankan navy.
K. Muniasamy, 50, of Sitharkottai, was fishing with three others near Delft island when their mechanised boat (IND TN 10 MM 450) capsized during a ‘special operation’ by the Sri Lankan navy to drive out and arrest Indian fishermen who allegedly trespassed into Sri Lankan waters.
The Sri Lankan navy, after rescuing three fishermen on the boat and five others on another boat (IND TN 10 MM 996), which was also sunk during the operation, launched a search for the missing fisherman and found him dead in the sea on Sunday. His body was reportedly kept in the government hospital in Jaffna.
Terming the sinking of the boats and the resultant death of the fisherman a ‘murderous attack’, Rameswaram fishermen condemned the Sri Lankan navy and urged the State and Central governments in India to take up the issue with the island nation and secure Muniasamy’s body at the earliest. They also urged the governments to secure the release of all the arrested and rescued fishermen and provide compensation to the owners of the two sunken boats.
The Sri Lankan navy’s website said the naval personnel recovered the body from the sea off Delft island on Sunday, and it was handed over to the Jaffna police. “It is suspected that this unfortunate incident happened due to rough sea conditions [that] prevailed in the area,” the website stated, adding that the navy had handed over the eight rescued fishermen to the Kankesanthurai police after administering first aid.
PMK’s plea
PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Monday said there should be a permanent solution to the issue of Tamil fishermen being routinely “attacked” and arrested by the Sri Lankan navy.
“Attacks on Tamil fishermen have been taking place for the past 35 years. Despite several agreements having been reached between the two governments [those of India and Sri Lanka], such attacks continue unabated and have intensified,” he said, adding that the laws governing arrested fishermen have been made harsher.