Five Sri Lankan fishermen, who had been apprehended by Indian Coast Guard personnel attached to Tuticorin station on Tuesday, were handed over to Tuticorin Marine police on Wednesday.
They were found illegally fishing in Indian waters at 70 nautical miles South East off Kanyakumari. While on routine patrol along Gulf of Mannar, the personnel aboard the Coast Guard ship Vaibhav sighted the Sri Lankan national boat — Asitha Putha bearing registration numbers IMUL-AO118 CHW along with a crew of five fishermen at 8.45 a.m. on Tuesday, Commandant S.E.D. Anand Kumar, Commanding Officer, ICGS, Tuticorin, said.
The Sri Lankan crew with the fishing boat violated the Maritime Zone of India Act, 1981.
After the apprehension, they were escorted to Tuticorin seaport initially and handed over to the Coastal Security Group.
Inspector of Tuticorin Marine Police, P.S. Ramesh Kumar, said investigations were under way and the apprehended fishermen would be handed over to Tuticorin Thermal police for further investigation.
The arrested were identified as A. Kumar Vaas (45), W. Antony Siracious Miral (47), R. Antony Newman (42), A. Immanuel (53) and K. Varnakula Suriya Jesudoss Leon (31). All of them belonged to Neer Colombo, he said.
