Sixteen of the 26 fishermen arrested by the Bangladesh Navy in mid-sea near Kolkata in the early hours of December 9 and subsequently released from prison by a court on January 24 reached their native villages in Kanyakumari district on Thursday night. The remaining 10, including one fisherman each from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, are on their way to their native places in their boats.
The fishermen were arrested by the Bangladesh Navy along with their catch in Indian waters, said one of the boat owners, R. Rajan (36) of Thoothur.
Mr. Rajan and 11 other fishermen visited the Collectorate here to submit a petition to the Collector, seeking Rs. one lakh as relief from the State government.
Mr. Rajan told reporters that they had to spend around Rs. 10 lakh for their release from Bangladesh prison through P. Justin Antony, founder-president of Tamil Nadu Fishermen Development Trust.
He said that the money was collected from family members of the affected fishermen, which was refuted by Mr. Antony, who claimed to have received the fishermen in Bangladesh.
Another boat owner, B. Sheba (43), claimed that the entire expense was borne by three boat owners.
The fishermen alleged that the State and Union governments did nothing for their release from Bangladesh prison and they had to bear the legal and transportation expenses.
Sajjansingh R. Chavan, Collector, said that the district administration was in constant touch with officials in Chennai to mount pressure on the Union government for the early release of fishermen, using diplomatic channels.
Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Pon. Radhakrishnan, in a statement, said that the expenses for the release of fishermen and diplomatic lobbies were met by the Union government through Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
