The Indian Navy on Friday detained four Sri Lankan fishermen and seized a fibreglass boat for foraying into Indian waters.
Commander S. Agarwal, Area Commander, South, Naval Detachment, Rameswaram, told The Hindu that they were spotted by a naval patrolling party at 5th} islet near International Maritime Boundary Line. They were escorted to the naval jetty for further enquiry. They had been identified as S. Rajalingam (59), Arul Raja (33), Newton (49) and Francis (60) of Jaffna in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Agarwal said that they revealed that they had set into the sea on Thursday from Guru Nagar shore off Jaffna and the information provided by them had been communicated to police and other security agencies for corroboration. They would shortly be handed over to the police for further action.
Mr. Rajalingam, one of the arrested fishermen, said that the naval personnel apprehended them when they were sailing towards the Gulf of Mannar from Kachchatheevu, where they could not get any catch after several hours of effort. They had not entered the Indian waters wilfully.
They did not know the border and fishermen would generally tend to sail through the areas where they could get a good catch. They were poor fishermen and their families would struggle to meet the day-to-day expenses while they were in custody in India. Since they had no ulterior motive, Mr. Rajalingam appealed to the government that they be released immediately.
While appreciating the gesture of naval personnel, who provided first-aid and took care of them well, Mr. Rajalingam said that the mass arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka was not agreeable to them as their family members would also undergo the same trauma.
