A day after the Sri Lankan Navy allegedly shot dead a young Indian fisherman Britjo of Rameswaram island, the Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday arrested 10 Sri Lankan fishermen on the charge of fishing in Indian territorial waters.
According to sources, they were apprehended about 50 nautical miles east off Nagapattinam when they were fishing. They were arrested by the personnel of Coast Guard ship Arnvesh based on inputs passed on by a Dornier aircraft, which was on a surveillance mission from Chennai over Palk Bay and Palk Strait on Tuesday. There were five fishermen on board each boat. After a preliminary enquiry, they were brought to the Coast Guard station in Karaikal.
The fishermen were identified as Chamara (29), Saman (39), J.L. Lakshman (29), Nalinda (25), Suresh (29), V.M. Madhushan (27), Ashen (20), Koshalan (20), Kavindra (29) and Dhanan Balan (57). The arrested fishermen included both Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhalese fishermen from Trincomallee and adjoining areas of Sri Lanka.
Of them, Saman was said to have lost one of his legs in an accident about 10 years ago. While a boat had ventured into the sea on February 25, the other boat had set sail on March 3. The boats bore the names of Manoj (IMUL-A-0689 MTR) and Kalanaputh-03 (IMUL-A-0137-TLE).
The mechanised boats, which likely set sail from the northern area of Sri Lanka, were said to have been engaged in deep-sea fishing. They had stocked rations and diesel for at least a week, the sources said.
Commandant S.N.M. Patnaik, Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Station, Karaikal, told The Hindu that the two fishing boats along with their Global Positioning Systems and fishing gear have also been seized from the fishermen. Investigation revealed that the fishing boats and crew members were engaged in poaching in Indian waters. They did not possess any valid licence or permit for fishing. Following this, the boats and the fishermen were detained for violation of provisions of the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessel) Act, 1981.
Mr. Patnaik further said that after due documentation and joint investigation, the two boats along with 10 crew members were handed over to the Coastal Security Group (CSG) for further legal proceedings.
