Doha

A 21-year-old Indian fisherman based in Qatar, Antony Arul Anish, was shot dead on Thursday while he had gone fishing with some compatriots.
His body was recovered by Bahrain’s naval forces and taken to a hospital there, it is learnt. The other fishermen escaped unhurt and their boat was rescued.
While efforts were still under way to ascertain the exact sequence of events, reports in the Indian media suggested that the victim, who hailed from Kanyakumari district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was shot by pirates.
Anish had ventured out, along with four other fishermen, in a boat owned by a Qatari sponsor, according to P Justin Antony, founder-president of the Tamil Nadu Fishermen Development Trust.
Anish had been working in Qatar for the past few years, according to the reports.
Stressing the need for a special force to deal with pirates, Antony said shooting of fishermen was on the rise and sought the intervention of the Indian embassy in making arrangements for Anish’s body to be sent back to his country at the earliest.
Another fisherman from Kanyakumari district was shot dead by pirates in May, he pointed out.