Pudukottai, Jan 21 (UNI) Four Indian fishermen, who were reported missing after their mechanized boat allegedly collided with a Sri Lankan Naval (SLN) Craft in the Island nation’s territorial waters while attempting to evade arrest on January 18, were declared dead by the Sri Lankan authorities on Thursday.
The deceased A.Mesia (30), V.Nagaraj (52), N.Sam (28) and S.Senthil Kumar (32), all hailing from Thangachimadam coastal hamlet in Ramanathapuram district had ventured into the sea for fishing from Kottaipattinam in Pudukottai district on January 18 morning.
The Sri Lanka Navy in its official website on January 19 claimed that the Indian fishing boat was found in its territorial waters about 8 nautical miles within the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) northwest of Delft Island.
The fishing boat while resisting the arrest collided with a SLN Fast Attack Craft and subsequently sank at sea.
The Sri Lankan Navy Spokesman Indika de Silva told newsmen at Colombo today that the diving teams engaged in search and rescue operations recovered the four bodies of Indian fishermen one after the other at Palk Strait.
The recovered bodies were being transferred ashore by an SLN craft and the bodies will be handed over to relevant authorities for onward action, he said.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed in the coastal hamlets of Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram during the day after the missing fishermen were proclaimed dead by the Sri Lankan Navy.
The fishermen expressed shock and grief over the deaths.
Accusing the Sri Lankan Navy of killing the innocent fishermen by deliberately ramming its Naval craft into the fishing boat, the fishermen of Kottaipattinam in Pudukottai and Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram staged agitations.
The fishermen alleged that the Lankan Navy used to ram its crafts into fishing boats several times previously.
In Kottaipattinam, the fishermen resorted to road roko agitation demanding the Centre to take stern action against Lanka for attacking and killing the innocent fishermen on the guise of charging cross border fishing.
The fishermen appealed to the Central and state governments to provide compensation to the kin of the victims.
UNI GSM CS 1318