Rameswaram: Four Tamil Nadu fishermen,
arrested and remanded in judicial custody by Sri Lankan
authorities for intruding into Lankan waters, were released
on Thursday, a top coast guard official said.
Sri Lankan naval personnel handed over the fishermen to
the ICG at the International Maritime Boundary Line this
evening, Indian Coast Guard Commanding Officer H Harish Morre
told reporters here.
The fishermen were being brought to Mandapam near here by
an ICG vessel.
The official said the four had put to sea on May 30 in a
mechanised fishing boat which capsized in mid-sea on June one
due to strong gales. However, they managed to swim and reach
Naina Island near the Lankan coast. They were arrested by
Oorkavalthurai police for straying into the Lankan waters
without valid documents.
On the Indian government's intervention, the Sri Lankan
government released all the four today.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had requested the National
Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon during his visit here on
June 9 en route to Colombo to take steps to secure release of
the four fishermen. Menon had assured Jayalalithaa that he
would take up the issues raised by her with the Sri Lankan
President.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, June 16, 2011, 22:07