In the most recent attack on fishermen from the state, allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy, two fishermen from Nagapattinam — Vasagan and Narayanan — were killed while the third — Murali — was injured on Saturday, drawing instant and intense criticism from almost all political parties in the state.

Murali informed his parents about the attack over his cellphone and was rescued by other fishermen from his village, who rushed to the spot on their motorboats.

Both the AIADMK and PMK have demanded that the state Government should take up the issue with the Centre.

In her statement on Sunday, Opposition leader and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa demanded that Tamil Nadu should get an assurance from Sri Lanka that such killings would not take place in the future.

In a similar note, PMK’s S Ramadoss asked the state Government to take up the issue with the Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister to stop the frequent attacks.

The CPI has also taken up the issue and would organise a march to the Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai to protest against the attacks. Party’s state secretary D Pandian has urged the Centre to take up the issue with the Sri Lankan Government during the SAARC conference, to be held in Lanka.

The DMK meeting on July 17 will discuss how to prevent such incidents, said party general secretary and Finance Minister K Anbazhagan in a statement here.

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had expressed his concerns over the issue publicly and has also written to the Centre to intervene in the problem.

The Lankan Navy on the other hand, has denied any role in the killing of the fishermen, maintaining that it is the handiwork of LTTE cadres.