Eleven fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Coast Guard returned home on Monday, April 17. The fishermen were from Kariakalmedu in Karaikkal, Perumalpettai and Vanagiri in Nagapattinam. The fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Coast Guard on December 22 on charges of crossing the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL).
The mechanised boats of these fishermen were also seized by the Sri Lankan Coast Guard. The 11 fishermen were then put in prison in Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had requested the union government to intervene in the matter and to bring the fishermen back to India. The 11 fishermen were then handed over to the Indian embassy officials who arranged visa and flight tickets and brought them back to Chennai early Monday morning. The Tamil Nadu fisheries department officials received the 11 fishermen and have arranged transportation for them to return to their native villages.
Among the 11 fishermen who were arrested, one of them was a boat owner named Rajkumar from Karaikalmedu. His boat was put out to sea from the Karaikal fishing harbour on December 18.
According to reports, the group was fishing off the Point Calimere coast at 11 am on December 22 when the Sri Lankan Coast Guard confronted them and later arrested them. Their fishing vessels and their equipment were seized. After they were arrested, the men were taken to Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka and were handed over to the local fisheries inspector, TNIE reported.
Rajkumar’s brother Sasikumar spoke to TNIE shortly after the arrest and said that his brother and the other fishermen did not venture into Sri Lankan waters on purpose but might have drifted due to poor weather conditions.
(With IANS inputs)