Tamil Nadu fishermen attacked by Sri Lankan navy

A group of fishermen from Rameswaram were beaten up and their boats damaged allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel near Katchatheevu, official sources said today.

The fishermen, who had put out to sea in 685 boats yesterday, were fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974, when a group of 50 boats came under attack allegedly from Lankan naval personnel.

The navy personnel also seized the fish catch and cell phones of the fishermen, they said.