The bodies of two Tamil Nadu fishermen, P. Maveeran and G. Shankar, arrived at Tiruchirappalli International Airport on 17 September 2026. This happened thirty-eight days after they were fatally shot by pirates off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
- The men and two other crew members, Palraj and Manikandan, were on a boat out of Jubail on 10 August 2026.
- A gang of pirates tried to rob the vessel.
- When the fishermen resisted, the attackers opened fire.
- Maveeran died instantly, and Shankar died in a hospital on 20 August 2026.
On the night of 10 August 2026, the four crew members were confronted by pirates, identified by Tamil Nadu ministers as Iranian, who attempted to rob the vessel. When the fishermen resisted, the attackers opened fire, killing Maveeran instantly. Shankar, who suffered gunshot wounds to the stomach, was rescued by Saudi naval personnel and transported to a hospital near Jubail and Dammam, where he died on 20 August 2026 after ten days in intensive care. Palraj and Manikandan survived the attack.
Following the incident, the families of the deceased petitioned the Mayiladuthurai district administration, leading to intervention by the state government and the Ministry of External Affairs. The Tamil Nadu government provided a solatium of ₹10 lakh to each family from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in late August. Amid political debates in the state Assembly, Minister Aadhav Arjuna clarified that delays in repatriation were due to mandatory Saudi inquiries. On 17 September, Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Minister A. Srinath received the remains, which arrived via a SriLankan Airlines flight from Colombo. The bodies were transported by the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils to their respective villages of Thoduvai and Keezhamoovarkarai for final rites, while local fishermen observed a one-day work stoppage in solidarity. Minister A. Srinath confirmed that Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had actively engaged with the External Affairs Minister regarding the case.
The incident highlights broader risks faced by Indian workers in the Gulf, where authorities are simultaneously monitoring the situation of Uttarakhand truck driver Indramani Nautiyal, currently held in Riyadh over a 2018 company fine of approximately ₹2.29 crore, and the ongoing search for Bihar seafarer Sumit Kumar Singh, who has been missing since an attack on the tanker MT El Gaia off the coast of Oman on 13 September 2026.
