New Delhi

Coast Guard sortie to identify firing location

RAMANATHAPURAM: Within a few hours of the firing incident in which two Tamil Nadu fishermen were shot dead allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy, a Dornier aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard on Saturday conducted a survey to find out the possible location of the incident.

Similarly, two ships of Indian Navy and Coast Guard patrolling the northern and southern sectors of Palk Bay are asked to “monitor the situation.”

The aircraft flew for around two hours over the Palk Bay and Palk Strait. The sortie was mainly concentrated around Point Calimere, Nagapatnam and Adam’s Bridge area near Dhanushkodi.

Highly placed Defence sources told The Hindu that the aim was not only to find out the place of occurrence but also to know the “perpetrators.” The crew of the aircraft was asked to find out whether there were “strange ships or boats” along the maritime boundary line.

The information about the shooting incident was passed on to INS Paratang, an offshore patrol vessel, which was on the northern sector of the Palk Bay when the incident took place. It was not only asked to step up surveillance but also monitor movements in the sea. Similarly, CCS Chandibibi, an inshore patrol vessel, which is in southern sector, has also been alerted.

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