122 fishermen from Alappad taken hostage by those from Anchuthengu

Tension gripped the fishing village of Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram district on Sunday, when about 122 fishermen from Alappad in Kollam district were abducted from the sea by Anchuthengu fishermen, brought ashore, and held hostage at the Saint Peter’s parish church compound there.

Trouble began in the morning when fishermen from Anchuthengu noticed a fleet of in-board engine traditional fishing vessels (known locally as kappal vallams ) from Alappad fishing within three nautical miles off the coast using banned nets. A small group of fishermen from the village sailed to the point and asked the Alappad fishermen to leave the area.

But the Anchuthengu fishermen were beaten and chased away. The fishermen who returned to the shore narrated the incident to others. Then, hundreds of villagers set off, in 45 fishing vessels, captured the six boats from Alapad and 122 fishermen. They then chased away other fishermen of Alappad from the area.

The fishermen held hostage comprised 22 migrant labourers too.

‘Pact broken’

The Anchuthengu fishermen contend that there was an agreement between the two sides that the Alappad fishermen will not fish within three nautical miles off the Anchuthengu waters using banned ring seine nets. That agreement was violated, they say.

As news spread, activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad threatened to block the National Highway at Attingal and Kazhakuttam. A police posse was soon deployed at Anchuthengu. Fishermen of Anchuthengu are mostly Catholic and those from Alappad, Hindus.

In the interim, top police and revenue officers, along with representatives of fishermen trade unions, reached the church to hold talks with the Anchuthengu fishermen for getting the hostages released. The Anchuthengu fishermen insisted that the Alappad fishermen be arrested and a case registered against them. They said that the seized boats and the catch in it would not be released.

By evening, the situation got defused when police agreed to arrest the Alappad fishermen and register a case. The Anchuthengu side agreed to hand over the captured boats, along with the catch, to the custody of the Vizhinjam coastal police station.