Rameshwaram sources have stated that as anger swept through the fishing hamlets in Rameswaram after the Sri Lankan Navy allegedly shot dead a 21 year old fisherman, K. Britjo, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to summon the Srilankan High Commissioner and convey the “strong feelings” of the Central and State governments over the incident.
Edappadi Palaniswami had said it was a “cold blooded, inhuman, horrific and illegal barbaric killing of a young Indian fisherman from Tamil Nadu” and dispatched Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar to meet the family members of the deceased and hand over a solatium of 5 lakh.
Meanwhile until late on Tuesday night, Britjo’s family
members and the other fisher folk refused to accept the body and launched an
agitation urging the Centre to find a lasting solution.
The fishermen leaders have said that Britjo was one of the six fishermen on board mechanized boat fishing on the high seas between Katchatheevu and Danushkodi on Monday night when the Srilankan Navy allegedly opened fire at them. He was hit by a bullet in his throat, while others escaped by lying in the bottom of the boat.
