Three Tamil Nadu fishermen injured in mid-sea attack by Lanka Navy

In yet another incident of attack on Indian fisherfolk, three fishermen from Rameswaram were injured when they were pushed into sea and their country boat ransacked allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy personnel on the charge of straying into their waters.

Two fishermen from Tamil Nadu were killed allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy in mid-sea incidents recently, causing an outrage in India and prompting the government to tell Colombo that use of force against them should not be repeated.

Officials said a group of fishermen in ten country boats had anchored their boats in the sea and were fishing when the latest incident occurred at around midnight last night.

Two of the fishermen -- Anthonydass and Albert -- told officials that they were very much in the Indian zone when Sri Lankan Navalmen allegedly assaulted them and ransacked their boats.

Officials also said the country boat fishermen would not have crossed the International Maritime Boundary line in view of the limited capacity of their vessels.

The fishermen complained that Sri Lankan Navalmen cut off the anchor ropes and assaulted them with their gun. "Three of us were pushed into sea and our fishing nets were also thrown into waters," they said adding they swam for a long time before locating their boat.

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, during her visit to Colombo on January 31, had voiced "serious concern" over the killing of two Tamil Nadu fishermen and said India expected the island nation to put in place "effective measures" to avoid recurrence of such incidents.

A joint statement issued at the conclusion of Rao's visit had said the two sides agreed that use of force cannot be justified under any circumstances.