17 Tamil Nadu Fishermen Injured In Attack Of Sri Lankan Pirates, Looted GPS And Nets Worth Rs 10 Lakh

Nagapattinam: In a shocking incident, more than 30 fishermen from Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu were allegedly attacked by a group of Sri Lankan pirates on Friday while fishing off the Coromandel coast. According to reports, the fishermen had ventured out in a fibre boat and were fishing southeast of Kodiyakkarai, within what they claimed to be Indian territorial waters, when six men in a speedboat approached them.

The pirates reportedly looted GPS equipment and fishing nets, valued at around Rs 10 lakh, before proceeding to attack several other boats in the area. One of the injured fishermen, Gajendran from Serudhur, expressed his outrage over the repeated attacks. “Sri Lankan pirates attacked us, and several fishermen are now hospitalised. We urge both the state and central governments to intervene.

This is not the first such attack. A similar incident occurred in December last year, when three Tamil Nadu fishermen suffered slash wounds after being assaulted and robbed by pirates from Sri Lanka. The repeated cross-border piracy threats have raised concerns among the coastal fishing communities in Tamil Nadu, who now fear venturing into sea for their livelihood.