The Sri Lankan Navy arrested four more fishermen from Rameswaram and seized their trawler on charges of poaching in the Sri Lankan waters in the early hours on Sunday.
The four fishermen, part of the 3,000 fishermen who set out for fishing on Saturday morning, were fishing south west of Delft Island when the Sri Lankan Navy arrested them, reports said.
After the Navy handed over the fishermen and the trawler to the Jaffna Fisheries Inspector, they were produced before the Magistrate Court in Kayts and remanded to judicial custody in Jaffna prison till June 16.
This is the third instance of the Sri Lankan Navy arresting Indian fishermen after the new fishing season began on May 30 at the end of the 45-day ban period. The Island nation has so far arrested 15 fishermen and seized three trawlers. It arrested seven Rameswaram fishermen on May 31 and four fishermen belonging to Kottaipattinam in Pudukottai district on June 2.
The arrest comes a day after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a week, urging him to secure the release of 11 fishermen arrested on >May 31, 2016 and >June 2, 2016 .
Fishermen are upset that the Sri Lankan Navy continued to arrest them even after Ms Jayalalithaa took up the matter with the Prime Minister. The fishermen had great hopes of trouble-free fishing in the new fishing season after the recent meeting between Mr. Modi and Sri Lankan President Maithiripala Sirisena in New Delhi. However, their hopes have been dashed to the ground, an association member said.
Leaders of eleven fishermen associations discussed the issue last week and had adopted resolutions urging the State and Central governments to protect their livelihood and secure the release of 90 fishing boats impounded by the Sri Lankan authorities. They have threatened to stage a ‘rail roko’ on June 24 if no solution is found to their issue.
