At least 12 fishermen of Arukattuthurai were “chased away” and their nets were damaged by the Sri Lankan naval personnel in the mid sea off Kodiakarai on Tuesday night. The incident triggered tension among the fishermen in the coastal area in the district.
The 12 fishermen, from Arukattuthurai, ventured into sea in three fibre boats from Kodiakarai on Tuesday afternoon. They had anchored their boats and cast their nets in mid sea on the south east of Kodiakarai when Sri Lankan naval personnel came there in a patrol vessel around 10 pm. They hurled liquor bottles towards the fishermen but the bottles fell into the water after hitting the boats.
Later, the Lankan naval personnel abused the fishermen, damaged their nets and chased them away at gun-point after a stern warning not to venture into that area.
The panicky fishermen undid their nets and returned to shore by 8 am on Wednesday. However, no one was injured, sources said. The fishermen, however, claimed that they were fishing well within the India side close to the international maritime boundary line.