PUDUKOTTAI
Eight fishermen of Pudukottai district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy over the past couple of days while they were engaged in fishing off the Delft Island.
A group of four fishermen had set sail on board a mechanised vessel from the Jagadapattinam jetty on Saturday morning.
The fishermen K. Sathish (33), N. Ajith (24), M. Dharmaraj (47) and K. Ramu (55) from Jagadapattinam were returning after fishing when the vessel’s gear box developed snag midway due to which it could not reach the shore, Coastal Security Group sources said. Information regarding the fishermen who could not make it to the shore was conveyed to the Coastal Security Group unit as well.
The sources said the fishermen on the boat were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Monday morning off the Delft Island and taken to Kankesanthurai Naval base for interrogation.
In another incident, four other fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in the early hours on Tuesday while they were engaged in fishing off the Delft Island. The fishermen set sail on board a mechanised vessel from Kottaipattinam in the district on Monday morning.
Coastal Security Group sources said the four fishermen - T. Raneesan (36), S. Raja (34) B. Viji (30) and A. Manikandan (33) were fishing about 33 nautical miles off the Delft Island when they were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy at around 3 a.m.
The arrested fishermen along with their vessel were taken to Karai Nagar Naval Camp in the island nation for interrogation. The fishermen were arrested on the charge of fishing illegally in Sri Lankan territorial waters.
