COLOMBO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka on Tuesday denied claims it had shot dead an Indian fisherman in Sri Lankan waters.
Navy spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Chaminda Walakuluge told Xinhua the Navy only arrests fishermen engaged in illegal fishing and does not open fire on them.
"We categorically deny the allegation that we shot at an Indian fisherman. We had arrested several Indian fishermen in the recent past. There is no need for us to shoot at them," he said.
The Indian media reported earlier that the Sri Lankan Navy had allegedly shot dead a 21-year-old fisherman and injured some others when they opened fire on fishermen from India's southern Rameswaram town.
The fishermen who set out for "night fishing" from the fishing jetty on Monday evening were fishing on the high seas, when the Sri Lankan Navy allegedly opened fire, the Indian media reported.
The Indo-Lanka fishing fishermen issue has seen tensions grow between Sri Lanka and India.
