Courtesy The Hindustan Times

The Indian Navy on Friday shot at a fisherman while trying to intercept a suspicious boat” in Palk Bay, near the maritime border with Sri Lanka, with the Tamil Nadu government identifying the injured man as resident of the state and writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.
The Indian Navy on Friday shot at a fisherman while trying to intercept a suspicious boat” in Palk Bay, near the maritime border with Sri Lanka, with the Tamil Nadu government identifying the injured man as resident of the state and writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.

The Tamil Nadu government identified the injured fisherman as K Veeravel, a resident of Vanagiri village in Mayiladuthurai district. Chief minister M K Stalin has announced a compensation of ₹20 lakh for Veeravel and wrote to PM Modi asking him to direct security forces to exercise caution.

A statement tweeted by the defence ministry’s PRO in Chennai said that during the early hours of October 21, a suspicious boat” was observed by the Indian Navy ship on patrol in Palk Bay.

Despite repeated warnings the boat did not stop,” the statement read. The ship, as per standard operating procedures, fired warning shots to stop the boat. One of the crew onboard the suspicious boat is reported to have sustained an injury. The injured person was administered first aid by the ship and evacuated by an Indian Navy Chetak helicopter,” it added.

The injured person has been shifted to the Government Hospital, Ramanathapuram for further medical management. His condition is reported to be stable. An Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident,” the PRO tweet stated.

Veeravel sustained injuries to the abdomen and thigh but is in a stable condition, according to officials familiar with the matter. District authorities and the state’s fisheries minister, Anitha Radhakrishnan, met him at the hospital in Madurai.

Union minister of state L Murugan, who was in Chennai on Friday said he would comment on the matter only after the investigation is complete.

We have asked for an investigative report to identify the person who shot the fishermen,” Murugan said, adding that they will review if Veeravel falls in the ambit of the ministry’s group insurance scheme.

We have been insisting that fishermen attach a GPS because sometimes, we have instances of them crossing the border. We will know what happened in this specific instance only after completing the investigation,” he said.

Veeravel was among a group of ten fishermen (seven from Tamil Nadu and three from Karaikal in Puducherry) who had ventured for fishing in a Karaikal-registered mechanised fishing boat, said one of the officials mentioned above, asking not to be named.

Announcing the compensation for Veeravel, CM Stalin said: I am deeply shocked and saddened to learn that Mr Veeravel has sustained serious injuries after being shot by the Indian Navy this morning… I have ordered for him to be provided special medical treatment.”

Later in the day, he wrote to PM Modi Stalin on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the incident.

I am extremely saddened by this incident that has happened by an act of the Indian Navy. You are well aware of the plight of Indian fishermen being ill-treated by Sri Lankan security forces. But, when our security forces resort to similar acts, it creates a sense of despair and insecurity in the minds of the downtrodden fisher folk,” he wrote.

I request your intervention in this matter and request you to direct the Indian Security Agencies to exercise extreme caution and restraint while dealing with Indian fishermen in Indian waters,” he added.