Four-and-a-half-years have passed since the gunning down of 21-year-old K Britjo, a Rameswaram fisherman, allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy on the night of March 6, 2017. He was fishing on the high seas in the Palk Strait along with fellow fishermen when he was shot dead but the perpetrators are yet to be identified, leave alone brought to book. After registering a First Information Report (FIR) and completing preliminary investigation, the Marine police of the Coastal Security Group (CSG) handed over the investigation to the district police in April, 2017. Since then, there has been no headway in the case. The only progress so far been made in the case was that the police have ascertained that the bullet recovered from the body of Britjo was fired from an AK 47 assault rifle. A wave of anger swept the Rameswaram island for nearly 10 days after the incident as the fishing community staged protests refusing to accept the body, demanding the arrest of the culprits. Finally, they called off the stir when the then Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, specially deputed by Prime Minister No End to Fishers’ agony in Palk Strait. THE RISING SUN Broken lives Narendra Modi, assured that the Centre would take firm action. “The Centre would follow up the shooting incident,” she told the fishermen. “The Sri Lankan Prime Minister had agreed to conduct an inquiry into the shooting incident. The Marine Police of the Coastal Security Group also filed a FIR against the Lankan Navy and action would be taken based on enquiries and charge sheets. We will not leave the issue without getting justice,” Ms Sitharaman assured. Every time when the fishermen were killed or attacked by the Lankan Navy during their voyages in the narrow Palk Strait for fishing, the fishing community would rally around to strike work and launch agitations demanding action against the offenders. They would abstain from fishing in protest when the Union government would step in, assuring ‘firm and definite action’. Accepting the assurances, the fishermen would