Fourteen Sri Lankan fishermen, including a Tamil speaker, were arrested by the Coast Guard on the charge of illegal fishing in the Indian waters and three boats were seized.
Sources in the Coast Guard here said the ICG ship, Vaibhav, found the fishermen of Neer Colombo, 53 nautical miles off Kanyakumari on Tuesday. They were handed over to the Tuticorin Marine Police on Wednesday.
C. Sylendra Babu, Additional Director-General of Police, Coastal Security Group, said cases were booked against the fishermen under the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act, 1981. They would be taken to a designated court in Ramanathapuram district. The Coastal Security Group has arrested 64 Sri Lankan fishermen so far this year, he told The Hindu .
