Three fishermen from Vellapallam coastal village in the Nagapattinam District in Tamil Nadu were injured in an alleged mid-sea assault off the coast of Kodiyakkarai by a group of Sri Lankan fishermen, Indian media reported.

The incident is said to have happened during the late hours on Tuesday. The Sri Lankans have also robbed the catch and other equipment of the Indian fishermen.

Indian media reports say that the group of six fishermen had set out to the sea on Monday in two fibre reinforced plastic boats on Monday.

While the crew was fishing about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kodiyakkarai, a group of six Sri Lankan fishermen arrived at the spot in two vessels and allegedly assaulted the Indian group with logs and damaged their fishing gear. Three fishermen sustained injuries on their limbs. Besides, GPS gadgets and fishermen’s catch worth Indian Rupees 25,000 were also said to have been grabbed by the Sri Lankan fishermen.

The injured fishermen managed to return to Vellapallam on Wednesday morning and they were subsequently admitted to the Nagapattinam government hospital, repots said.

On hearing about the incident, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister K.A. Jayapal and Collector T Munusamy visited the ailing fishermen on Wednesday.

The injured fishermen have also lodged a complaint regarding the assault with the Marine police and fisheries officials.