Sri Lankan Navy arrests eight Tamil Nadu fishermen

RAMESWARAM: Sri Lankan Navy personnel today arrested eight Tamil Nadu fishermen when they were fishing near Neduntheevu, almost near the Lankan coast, a fisheries department official said.

They have been taken to Kangesanthurai along with their two boats, Assistant Director of Fisheries Gopinath said.

The fishermen were almost near the Lankan coast when they were arrested, he said.

While four fishermen hail from Rameswaram, four others are from Pudukottai, the official said.

On November 26, Lankan navy personnel arrested 15 Tamil Nadu fishermen on charges of allegedly violating the International Maritime Boundary Line.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi the same day seeking his intervention for release of fishermen arrested by the Lankan Navy and seized boats, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had said with the arrests continuing 'unabated,' it has created a sense of fear and unrest among the community.

The Navy had arrested 34 fishermen on different occasions earlier this month on charges of poaching in Lankan waters.

Meanwhile, four Rameswaram fishermen have been stranded in Katchatheevu in the Palk Strait as their boat got damaged after hitting a rock, Gopinath said.