TN CM flays Sri Lankan Navy over death of 4 Indian fishermen

Citing information from fishermenthat four of their community ''died due to an attack'' by theSri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami onThursday condemned the island nation maritime force for suchacts shattering their livelihood.

To put an end to such mid-sea incidents, appropriateaction was being taken and his government was in touch withthe union government, he said.

He has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi toinitiate an appropriate inquiry through the Indian HighCommission in Colombo into the incident, Palaniswami said,three days after Sri Lanka said an Indian fishing boat sank inits waters following a 'collision' with its Navy vessel.

Condoling the deaths, the Chief Minister, in an officialrelease, said he has ordered a solatium of Rs 10 lakh each tothe families of the four fishermen.

Reacting to the incident, DMK president M K Stalinalleged the Lankan Navy unleashed ''a barbaric attack'' on thefour fishermen and drowned them in sea alongwith their boat.

Referring to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar'srecent Sri Lanka visit and his 'talks' with the islandgovernment on the fishermen issue, Stalin said the 'killing'of the four fishermen showed the neighbouring country had noregard for India.

''Prime Minister Narendra Modi should condemn Sri Lankaand pressurise that country to provide a compensation of Rsfive crore each to the families of the four fishermen killedby Sri Lankan Navy,'' Stalin said in a statement.

Palaniswami said when four fishermen who had set out forfishing from Pudukottai district on January 18 did not return,a search operation was undertaken by Indian Coast Guard, anaval ship and helicopter on his direction.

''We now have received information through fishermen thatthe four (missing) fishermen died due to attack by Sri LankanNavy,'' he said.

The four had ventured into the sea for fishing in a boatbelonging to a man from Thangachimadam near Rameswaram inRamanathapuram district, he said, adding it was among the 214mechanised vessels that had set out for fishing.

Palaniswami said he has ordered a job for one memberfrom each of the four families in government or state-runenterprises and relief assistance for the boat affected in theattack.

An official in Rameswaram said bodies of all the fourfishermen have been recovered by Sri Lankan authorities. OnWednesday, bodies of two fishermen were recovered.

A protest demonstration was held in Rameswaram onThursday, condemning the 'attack' and demanding that thegovernment take steps to bring back the bodies of thefishermen.

The Lankan Navy had on Tuesday said it had launched asearch and rescue operation for ''unknown number of missingfishermen'' and the sunken boat.

It had said the Navy units on patrol carried out anoperation to seize Indian fishing trawlers 'poaching' in SriLankan waters after observing more than 50 vessels.

As the operation was going on, one of the Indian fishingtrawlers tried to evade the scene, making it collide with aSri Lankan Navy vessel, it had said.