Rameswaram: In the second such
incident within a fortnight, 14 Indian fishermen were on Monday
arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and taken to the island nation
for allegedly fishing in their waters.
Eighteen fishermen had set out to sea in two boats and
14 of them had been arrested and taken to Mannar district in
Sri Lanka, Assistant Director of Fisheries Department
Markandeyan, said quoting Coastguard officials. One boat was
detained.
Four other fishermen were released along with one
boat, he said.
Following the arrest, Coastguard officials said the
released fishermen had told them that they had been fishing in
Indian waters near the third sand dune off Arichalmunai when
the Lankan Navy arrested them around 12:30 pm.
Twenty-three Indian fishermen, along with five
trawlers, were arrested on June 21 off the north east coast of
Mannar by the Lankan Navy which alleged that they were fishing
in Sri Lankan waters.
They were remanded to judicial custody but released on
June 29 following an order from Mannar district court.
Following the arrest, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa had sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s
intervention to secure their release.
PTI
