Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention sought for securing release of fishermen

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government today sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately secure the release of 24 Indian fishermen from the state, who were captured by Bangladeshi authorities recently.

The 24 fishermen had gone for deep sea fishing in three boats from Bettuagad near Kolkata in West Bengal on November 17 and were arrested by Bangladesh Navy for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line on December 9, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said the 'innocent fishermen' were the sole breadwinners of their families and that their arrest and detention will severely affect their dependents.

Panneerselvam urged Modi to direct officials of External Affairs Ministry to coordinate with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka 'and intervene at the diplomatic level to secure the immediate release of these 24 poor fishermen from Tamil Nadu'.