Fisherman hit by bullet off Fort Kochi coast, suffers ear injury

KOCHI: A fisherman suffered an injury to his earlobe after being hit by a bullet nearly two kilometres off INS Dronacharya in Fort Kochi on Wednesday. Sebastian, 70, a resident of Maneechira, Pallithode near Chellanam, was hit while heading to the shore along with 30 others after fishing around noon. The fishermen recovered the pellet from the boat. 

Sebastian, admitted to a private hospital, required three stitches to his earlobe.  “He felt a slap on his face. Within a second, he started bleeding. Though we didn’t understand what had happened, we were able to recover a pellet from the boat. He is fortunate to have survived,” said a fisherman. 

The fishermen alleged that the.2mm bullet was fired from INS Dronacharya, the gunnery school of the Indian Navy. “Fishermen are the sea’s second line of defence. Though the Navy has denied its role, we are not ready to accept it. A detailed probe should be carried out. We will launch a sea of protest to get justice,” said Charles George, convener of the Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi.

He added that the Navy had issued a warning for September 5 (Tuesday), citing firing in the area where the incident happened on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Coastal Police have registered a case based on Sebastian’s statement. “We are not in a position to confirm the role of the Navy. We need to do a ballistic study to find whether the weapon belonged to the Navy,” said an officer with the Coastal Police.

However, speaking to TNIE, Defence PRO Commander Atul Pillai refuted the allegation. “Our officers inspected the bullet and found it to be from a weapon of non-military calibre. The Navy has no role in it,” he said.