The matter of the killing of an Indian fisherman in an alleged shooting by the Sri Lankan Navy has been taken up at the highest levels between the two countries.

Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari today raised the issue with President Maithripala Sirisena during a bilateral meeting between New Delhi and Colombo in Jakarta, India Today reported.

After the meeting, Ansari said that the Sri Lankan President told him that he had ordered a “full investigation” into the incident. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Summit of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), hours after the incident was reported.

Twenty-two-year-old Britso died Monday after the Sri Lankan Navy allegedly opened fire at a group of fishermen in the Palk Strait. Both the Sri Lankan Navy and the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry have categorically denied that such an incident took place.

“The President said he had heard about it (the incident) this morning and that he had spoken to the Chief of the Sri Lankan Navy who had said that no such incident from the side of the Sri Lankan forces took place,” Ansari told the media on board his special aircraft while returning from his two-day visit to Indonesia. Apart from Monday’s incident, as many as 76 Indian fishermen are being detained in Sri Lanka.

According to news agency PTI, the Vice President candidly conveyed to Sirisena that something must be done by Sri Lanka about the recurring problem related to Tamil Nadu fishermen as part of confidence-building measures. (Colombo Gazette) 

Two Sri Lankan boats detained by Indian authorities

The Coast Guard detained two Sri Lankan boats on the charge of foraying into Indian waters on Tuesday evening, The Hindu newspaper reported.

Sources said that the boats were detained while they were fishing off the Nagapattinam coast and were being brought to the Karaikal port.

They were expected to reach Karaikal on Wednesday morning. The exact number of fishermen on board the boats and other details will be known once they reach the shore, Coast Guard sources said. (Colombo Gazette)