TIRUCHY: Sri Lankan Navy apprehended seven fishermen from Mayiladuthurai district on charges of crossing the IMBL and seized two country boats in the wee hours of Wednesday.
Sources said, a crew of four fishermen -- K Devaraj, P Sridhar, N Kalaivanan and R Saranraj all from Tharangambadi ventured into sea in a country boat (IND TN 16 MO 4245) owned by A Manimekalai while another crew of three fishermen who were identified as V Rajesh, R Sathyaseelan and T Savin all from Sirkazhi also ventured into sea on Tuesday evening.
When they were fishing off the coast of Kodiyakarai, a naval craft approached them and arrested them for crossing the IMBL. The Sri Lankan Navy also seized two country boats and took them to Jaffna.
The arrested fishermen were handed over to the fisheries department of Myliddy in Jaffna for legal proceedings.
The information about the apprehension had spread among the fishing hamlets across the region, and they gathered in the Tharangambadi coast and demanded the immediate release of the arrested fishermen and their boats.
They also appealed to the union government to have diplomatic talks and arrive at a permanent solution.