CHENNAI: As many as 32 Tamil Nadu fishermen who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Coast Guards returned to Chennai on Saturday.

The fishermen from Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukottai, and Karaikal went fishing in the sea last month.

On December 9 when they were fishing in the middle of the sea, the Sri Lankan Coast Guard surrounded the fishermen and seized their boats for crossing the border, and later all 32 of them were arrested and sent to prison.

Following the incident, the families of the fishermen requested the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin and the Central government to take action.

Then, with the help of the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka, all 32 fishermen were released from the prison a few days ago and they were handed to the Indian officials.

Later, the Indian Embassy arranged the travel documents for the fishermen and all of them arrived in Chennai on Friday evening on the Air India flight from Colombo.

At the airport, they were welcomed by the officials from the fisheries department, and the officials arranged transport for the native villages.