Man arrested in connection to stabbing

A man has been arrested in connection to the attack on the fisherman who was stabbed on Friday morning.

The arrested man is one of the victim's crew mates.

Authorities received reports of a 26 year old man getting treatment for stab wounds at AA.Maalhos Health Centre, around 3:06 am on Friday morning. He has since been brought to the capital and is currently receiving treatment from IGM Hospital.

The 26 year old fisherman, identified as Ismail Hammad of Fehi Ali, Raa atoll Madduvvari, is still in critical condition, says Maldives Police Service (MPS).

According to the MPS, Hammadh was taken to Male' around 08:50 am on Friday morning by the Coast Guard squadron.

Authorities stated that an argument broke out on a sea-cucumber fishing boat from Madduvari island of Raa atoll.

It is unclear what the group was arguing about but reliable sources confirm it was a religious discussion. Hammadh disagreed with remaining two crew mates, resulting in the pair of men stabbing him in eight areas of his body. Witnesses at the hospital say the Hammadh was missing a portion of his scalp and his mouth was torn.

He reportedly swam to Maalhos after jumping overboard to save himself and begged for help from the nearest house to the shore, says witnesses.

Witnesses also reported seeing the two perpetrators searching for him on the island as well as on the beach using torches. By the time the perpetrators made it to the island's health centre, a crowd had formed outside. Islanders informed the police of the suspicious outsiders, and the perpetrators were questioned and taken into police custody soon afterwards.

Since the incident, it has come to light that Hammadh was convicted for his involvement in the damage to VTV, a privately owned TV station, on 7 February 2012. Furthermore, media reports citing officials from the Ministry of Gender and Family revealed that Hammadh is illegally married to a 13 year old girl and that the case came to the attention of the ministry after the child got pregnant.

Neither the girl's current condition nor any action taken in the case has been disclosed.

As such, it has been revealed to RaajjeMV that the crew of the fishing boat consists of gang members and people with hard-line religious views. The crew on the fishing boat that day, including Hammadh, are known to have extremist religious ideologies.

Investigation into the case is still ongoing.