Sri Lankan Navy apprehends six Pudukkottai fishermen

TIRUCHY: The Sri Lankan Navy apprehended six fishermen from Pudukkottai for reportedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) late on Monday night.

According to sources, around 400 fishermen from Jegathapattinam in Pudukkottai district ventured for fishing in as many as 93 mechanised boats. Among them, Karthik (24) of Jegathapattinam went for fishing in his boat with five others, who were identified as Suresh (47), Thirumeni (31), Sundaram (47) and Velmurugam (29), all from hamlets in and around Jegathapattinam.

While they were fishing 30 nautical miles off Jegathapattinam, a Sri Lankan Navy fast attack craft came to the spot. On seeing the Lankan Navy Karthik and the crew attempted to flee. But, they were arrested by the SL Navy personnel claiming that they trespassed into the island nation waters. The naval personnel also seized the boat, fishing gears and the catch. They were later taken to Kankesanthurai port and handed over to the Fisheries Department through SL Coast Guard for legal proceedings.

Meanwhile, the information about the apprehension of the six fishermen spread like wild fire across Pudukkottai and fishers urged both the Centre and state governments to initiate diplomatic proceedings and secure the release of the arrested fishermen and their boat. The fishers claimed that they were frustrated over the frequent arrests by the Sri Lankan Navy.