PUDUKKOTTAI: It's been four days since the death of fisherman Rajkiran from Kottaipattinam in Pudukkottai after his boat was hit by a Sri Lankan vessel. His body and two other fishermen Suganthan and Xavier who were detained by the Sri Lankan authorities are yet to be sent to India.
The entire village of Kottaipattinam is in mourning. The fishermen and women have been sitting in protest and have not ventured into the sea for the past three days. Officials had said that the body would be brought back today and two boats with fishermen and fisheries officials were ready since 4 am on Friday. However, the fishermen kept waiting as there was no word from the higher authorities.
After waiting in the sea for more than six hours, they came out and joined their fellow fishermen in protest. Fisheries officials and police personnel are also waiting for word about when the body will be sent back.
Kottaipattinam Fishermen Association Leader Chinnaadaikalam said that if the body is not brought back today, they would escalate the protests.
“We are very disappointed by the behaviour of the government. Is the life of our fishermen not important? This has been a problem for several years. We’ve all borne atrocities by the Sri Lankan government. Get us our two boys and the body of Rajkiran soon,” says Chinnaadaikalam.
Social activists and local political leaders have been visiting the site of the protest. However, there is no official word on when the body will be sent back.
Fishermen allege that Rajkiran was intentionally killed by the Sri Lankan Navy.
“We have seen pictures of the body. This is not what a person looks like if they drown. The Sri Lankans have given him acid and tortured him. That’s why his body has swelled up. We want answers from the government,” says Chinnaadaikalam.
Prabhakaran, a fisherman who was travelling in the boat next to the one that was hit by the Sri Lankan vessel, says that the SL vessel captured the boat 'Suresh'.
“More than 120 boats took off on Monday. We were fishing in Indian waters only. We saw a Sri Lankan navy vessel doing the rounds. When they came near us, we all ran away. I saw the boat 'Suresh' and was communicating with Rajkiran through walkie-talkie. He was the one who alerted us about the arrival of the SL vessel. I saw the vessel chasing the boat and subsequently capturing it. After that, we couldn’t get to the boat through walkie-talkie,” says Prabhakaran.