Tamil Nadu fishermen allege attack by Indian Coast Guard off IMBL

Rameswaram: A group of Tamil Nadu fishermen on Thursday alleged they were roughed up by the Indian Coast Guard while fishing near the IMBL, a charge denied by the maritime agency.

Coast Guard Commander, Mandapam Area, G Mani Kumar, while denying the allegations, told PTI that a team of four personnel that was on routine patrol only asked the fishermen to return to the shore as they did not possess valid ID cards.

Around 30 fishermen from this island town had ventured into the sea on Wednesday and were fishing near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) when the ICG arrived at the spot in a boat and drove them away, Munisbabu, one of the injured fishermen claimed.

Four Coast Guard personnel boarded their boats and allegedly roughed them up even as the fishermen sought to know why they were stopped, he alleged.

Following this all the fishermen returned without a catch this morning.

Meanwhile, leaders of fishermen associations condemned the incident.