5 Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by Lankan Coast Guard

Sources said, around 1,000 fishermen of Jegathappattinam in the Pudukkottai district ventured into the sea on Monday from the Jegathappattinam boat jetty on 225 mechanised fishing boats. As per schedule, all of them should return on Tuesday morning. However, all but one mechanized boat returned to the jetty

On growing suspicious, the office bearers of Jegathappattinam mechanized boats fishermen welfare association launcheod a search for the missing boat and the fishermen besides alerting authorities attached to fisheries department and personnel of CSG. Later, they were told that the missing fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan coast guard personnel near North of Delft Island in Sri Lankan waters when they were on their routine patrol during the wee hours of Tuesday. 

Later, the arrested fishermen and their boat were taken to Kankesanthurai harbour and they were handed over to the assistant director of fisheries, Jaffna for further legal proceedings. 

The missing fishermen have been identified as M Thangamani(50), S Pradheep(22), S Arun(21), P Shanmugavel(35) and K Gopu(35), all of them native of Nagappattinam district and were venturing from Jegathappattinam jetty during the fishing season.