7 hours ago
Two mechanised boats attacked; over ₹35 lakh-worth seer fish stolen
In a mid-sea attack on two mechanised boats from Tharuvaikulam in Thoothukudi district, high sea robbers stole over 3.50 tonnes of premium seer or king fishes, popularly known as 'vanjiram' worth more than ₹35 lakh, off Kanniyakumari coast on Saturday morning.
When mechanised boat 'George 4' of Tharuvaikulam was returning to its base with 10 crew and driver Charles after week-long stay fishing in the high seas, the robbers, who had come in 15 fibre glass boats, intercepted the mechanised boat in the guise of fishermen even as the larger vessel was beyond 10 nautical miles off Kanniyakumari coast. As the sea was rough at that time, the robbers could easily stop the slowly moving mechanised boat, boarded the vessel with weapons and assaulted Mr. Charles first in a bid to halt the boat, police said.
'The robbers, who were carrying lethal weapons like machetes, swords and knives, threatened everyone in our boat. They seized our mobile phones and assaulted us. After thrashing us for a few minutes, they looted our priceless catches, all premium 'seela' or 'vanjiram' (seer or king fish). They looted over 3 tonnes of seer fish from our cold storage and loaded the booty in their fibre glass boats before fleeing. We immediately alerted our boat owner Michael George about the robbery,' said Mr. Charles.
When the robbers were returning to the shore, they targeted another mechnaised boat 'Geraldon', also from Tharuvaikulam, from which they looted ₹5 lakh worth fishes, mostly seer fish.
'The second boat, which was actually going from Tharuvaikulam for multi-day deep sea stay, was targeted by the robbers after this boat had just completed their first harvest in high seas. In all, the robbers looted over ₹35 lakh-worth premium fishes from two mechanised boats of Tharuvaikulam. We've informed the Tharuvaikulam marine police and Tharuvaikulam police for appropriate action and to recover the booty from the robbers,' he said.
Sources in the Fisheries Department said the liner hooks of the fibre glass country boat fishermen released in the high seas beyond 10 nautical miles got entangled in the propeller of these mechanised boats and hence the fishermen had attacked the boats and looted the fishes.
Superintendent of Police, Kanniyakumari, R. Stalin said he had instructed the Inspector of Police, Kanniyakumari to visit Chinna Muttom and Kanniyakumari and to take appropriate action based on his findings.
A peace meeting was conducted in the evening with both sides and the issue has been 'amicable sorted out', the SP informed.
