Sri Lanka to release 113 Tamil Nadu fishermen

The Sri Lankan Government yesterday recommended the release of 113 Indian fishermen arrested in recent months by the Navy on charges of fishing in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, PTI reported quoting a Tamil Nadu fishermen association leader.

A communication in this regard had been sent to the court in Jaffna, Tamil Nadu Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association President P. Sesuraja said quoting information received from the Fisheries officials in Sri Lanka.

The fishermen from Tamil Nadu had been detained over a period of time and lodged in prisons while their mechanised boats had been impounded.

The Tamil Nadu State Government had taken up the issue with the Indian Government last month and sought the release of the fishermen and the boats.

This is the second instance of release of Indian fishermen in large numbers since December last year. The Sri Lankan Government had released 89 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the last week of December. Sesuraja said the Jaffna court yesterday set free four of the fishermen, whose release had been requested on an urgent basis following the death of the son of one of them here. The other 109 fishermen were likely to be released in the next few days after completion of judicial process, he added.

The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka had requested for the release of Jayaseelan and three of his relatives on parole following the death of his son.

The Sri Lankan Government, however, recommended the release of the 113 fishermen who were detained till last month.

Another 27 fishermen, detained later, would still be under Lankan custody. (Colombopage)

Navy arrests seven Indian fishermen for poaching in territorial waters

The Navy has arrested seven Indian fishermen and seized their trawler for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

Sri Lankan Naval personnel on Thursday apprehended the Indian fishermen along with the trawler for poaching in the Sri Lankan territorial waters near the Delft Island, according to Indian fisheries officials.

The captured fishermen, all belonging to Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram district, have been taken to the Kankasanthurai Naval Camp for interrogation, ANI reported.