Three SL fishermen held in Rameswaram for crossing IMBL

Inspector of Police, Kanagaraj, Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group, Rameswaram, when contacted on Saturday evening, clarified that the three fishermen were not arrested but are being interrogated. Those three were from Talaimannar of Sri Lanka. The Indian Navy Ship (INS) Parundu while patrolling spotted these three men on a suspicious fibre boat and were taken to custody off Arichal Munai, the Inspector said.

N Devadoss, president of Rameswaram Fishermen Association said, the three fishermen were apprehended near IMBL after the boat engine developed snag off Dhanuskodi around 1 pm. The Naval personnel detained and handed them over to Indian Coast Guard personnel for further inquiries. They were fishermen from Sri Lanka and the boat used by them also had a SL registration, Devadoss said.

Further, Devadoss added that those apprehended were produced before the Rameswaram Judicial Magistrate as per formal procedure. Moreover, he said that such apprehension of Lankan fishermen on charges of cross border fishing is a rare phenomenon in Rameswaram.