by Durga
The Sri Lankan government has formally protested what it describes as a brutal and unjustified attack on its fishermen by officers of the Indian Coast Guard, an incident that has reignited long-simmering tensions over maritime boundaries and the safety of fishing communities in the northern Indian Ocean. The assault, which allegedly took place inside Sri Lankan waters, has left multiple fishermen injured and sparked angry demands for accountability from industry leaders, lawmakers, and the families of those affected.
According to Sri Lankan authorities, twelve fishermen traveling on two multi-day fishing vessels from Wennappuwa and Vellamankaraya were attacked on January 29 as they were returning to the island after fishing in international waters. Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar said the Indian High Commission in Colombo had already been informed of the incident and that the government had conveyed its “strong protest” over what he described as false allegations used to justify the assault.
The Sri Lanka Navy confirmed that four of the injured fishermen were admitted to the Karapitiya National Hospital in Galle for treatment, while a naval vessel was dispatched to sea to retrieve six others who were also attacked. Navy Media Spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said the injured men were being treated for multiple injuries sustained during the encounter, which fishermen say involved beatings with sticks and kicks after Indian personnel boarded their boats.
The fishermen insist they were well within Sri Lankan waters when the Indian Coast Guard intercepted them. They say they initially believed the approaching vessel belonged to the Sri Lanka Navy and stopped without resistance. What followed, according to their testimony, was a sudden and violent confrontation that has left them traumatized.
“I was taken inside the boat’s wheelhouse. Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind and attacked me,” said Shewan Thiwanka, one of the injured fishermen, speaking from his hospital bed at Karapitiya National Hospital. His voice trembled as he recounted the moments after Indian personnel boarded the vessel. He said several men speaking Indian languages boarded the boat, along with one person who spoke Sinhala, before he was assaulted without warning.
Another fisherman receiving treatment described a similar sequence of events. He said the group had set out to sea on December 23 and was returning home on January 20 when they were intercepted nine days later. “They searched us and checked the boat details,” he said. “They asked if we had seen an Iranian boat. They asked if there were drugs. They asked if we had a satellite phone. We said no to everything, but they didn’t accept it. Then they started attacking us. They beat us on the ground.”
Industry representatives have reacted with fury, accusing both India and Sri Lankan authorities of failing to protect fishermen who depend on the sea for their livelihood. Tyrone Mendis, president of the All Sri Lankan Multi-Day Fishing Vessel Owners Association, questioned how foreign personnel were able to cross into Sri Lankan waters and assault local fishermen without interception.
“What did the authorities do before they came inside Sri Lankan territory and attacked our people inhumanely?” Mendis asked. “Three vessels were attacked. Two of them were clearly in Sri Lankan waters. We need an immediate and proper investigation. This is not something that can be ignored.”
Mendis also criticized what he described as a lack of adequate maritime surveillance. He called on the government, the Navy, and the Fisheries Ministry to clarify whether warnings were issued, whether radar or patrols detected the Indian vessels, and why fishermen continue to be exposed to such dangers.
The Sri Lanka Navy responded cautiously to those accusations, saying it was practically impossible to monitor every point along the country’s extensive maritime borders at all times. Officials stressed that while patrols are conducted regularly, the sea remains a vast and complex space where incidents can unfold rapidly.
Four fishermen injured in the attack are currently being treated at the 58th Ward of the Karapitiya National Hospital. Hospital officials confirmed that the injured men range in age from 30 to 50 and are being treated for blunt-force injuries. They have been identified as Warnakulasuriya Suranga Nishal Peiris, Shewan Thiwanka Mahewawa, Warnakulasuriya Suresh Fernando, and Habara Batuwattage Indika Madusankha Fernando, all residents of the Kudamadhuwella and Thuduvawa areas.
Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Ratna Gamage visited the hospital to inquire about their condition and spoke to the media afterward. He said the Sri Lanka Navy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been instructed to immediately investigate the incident and determine whether the attackers were part of an official foreign force or an unofficial group operating at sea.
“We have informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Navy to establish whether this was carried out by a foreign group, whether it was an official operation or not, and how such an incident could take place,” Gamage said. He added that the government would take the matter up diplomatically once the facts were fully established.
The incident comes amid a long history of friction between Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen and maritime authorities, particularly in contested or sensitive waters. Arrests, boat seizures, and occasional clashes have been reported over the years, often linked to allegations of illegal fishing or border crossings. However, Sri Lankan officials say this latest case stands out because of the level of violence alleged and the claim that it occurred clearly within Sri Lankan territorial waters.
For the fishermen and their families, the incident has reinforced a sense of vulnerability. Multi-day fishing voyages often last weeks and take crews far from shore, where they rely on mutual trust and the assumption that state authorities will respect maritime boundaries and human life. The accounts emerging from Karapitiya Hospital suggest that assumption has been badly shaken.
As investigations begin, pressure is mounting on Colombo to secure answers from New Delhi and to ensure that similar incidents do not recur. Fishing communities, already struggling with rising costs, declining catches, and unpredictable seas, now fear that the greatest danger may come not from the ocean itself but from those tasked with policing it.
