Coastal Nagai tense after mid-sea clash between fishers

TIRUCHY: High tension prevailed in coastal Nagapattinam after two siblings were killed, while another was injured in a mid-sea clash between two groups of fishermen.

While the body of one of the victims was recovered, a search is on to trace the other person’s body. The injured sibling has been admitted to a hospital. In a swift follow-up, police on Monday arrested seven persons in connection with the clash, but the prime accused has gone into hiding.

Three siblings, S Athmanathan (35), S Sivanesa Selvan (25), and S Kalathinathan (21) from Akkaraipettai coastal village ventured into the sea on Sunday evening in a country boat with an outboard engine owned by another sibling S Santhosh.

While they were casting the net two nautical miles off Nagapattinam harbour, a mechanised boat owned by R Balakumar from Keechankuppam village along with seven other fishers from the same area had reportedly damaged the nets belonging to the siblings, and fled the spot.

The siblings chased the boat, besieged it, and argued with them. Suddenly, the fishers in the mechanised boat started attacking the siblings with the heavy weapons from the boat in which all three sustained grievous injuries.

Balakumar, the mechanised boat owner, who was at the wheel, rammed his boat into the country craft and toppled it. Though the siblings managed to balance themselves, Balakumar again rammed and overturned the country boat. Siblings, Sivanesa Selvan and Kalathinathan, drowned as the boat sank. Athmanathan, who had suffered injuries on one of his hands, managed to swim up to the shore.

Around 11.30 pm on Sunday, he was rescued by another mechanised boat from Nambiar Nagar. After hearing his version, they went to the spot and found that Sivanesa Selvan was lying dead on the toppled boat and brought the body to the shore. They also launched a search for the other sibling, Kalathinathan, but in vain.

Subsequently, the Nambiar Nagar boat reached the Arukattuthurai boat jetty and passed on the information to the fishermen panchayat and Vedaranyam Marine police, who rushed Athmanathan to the Nagapattinam GH.

Meanwhile, the mechanised boat that hit the country boat reached Vedaranyam and the marine police arrested seven persons on board. However, the prime accused Balakumar managed to escape.

The arrested were identified as R Balakrishnan, S Sridhar, S Kaliappan, S Mariappan, P Kannan, R Dhandapani, and M Velayutham and the Nagapattinam marine police to whom the case was transferred produced the arrested persons before the Nagapattinam Judicial Magistrate Court.

Heavy security has been deployed in both Akkaraipettai and Keechankuppam villages to prevent any untoward incidents. The police have also organised a peace meeting between the fishermen panchayats of both hamlets.