Two injured as Coast Guard fires on fishing boat

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two youths aboard a fishing boat were injured after Indian Coast Guard (ICG) officials seeking to inspect it fired on the boat when it changed course and increased speed. The incident took place around 5pm off Poonthura near here.
The coast guard tried to stop the boat using a hailer and VF-channel 16 and subsequently by lighting flares.When the boat failed to respond, warning shots were fired across its bows and both youths were reportedly injured by ricocheting bullets.
The injured youths were identified as Subin, 20, and Clinton, 23, both natives of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. The boat, Rishika, which had been fishing off Tutucorin for the past nine days, was returning to Neendakara in Kollam with the catch when the incident occurred.
ICG officials here said that they sounded warning signals for the boat to stop as they found the attire of the two youths suspicious. The boat was not steered by its lascar (skipper) but by a fisherman. The lascar reportedly alighted at Muttom near Thakkala in Tamil Nadu. From there the two youths, said to be students, boarded the boat for a cruise.
After the firing incident, officials learnt that the two youths were not carrying any identity proof which might be the reason they refused to stop the boat.
District collector Biju Prabhakar said the coast guard opened firing after completing all procedures. "Even after warning and warning fire, the boat sped away. It was then only that the CG officials fired at the boat", he said.
The boat was subsequently brought to Vizhinjam port, from where the injured were taken to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. Subin has a bullet injury on the calf muscle and Clinton suffered a fracture on the finger.
Officials are withholding names of other men who were on the boat and have been detained. The boat is also under custody at Vizhinjam coast guard station.