The Sri Lankan Navy late Monday arrested 38 Indian fishermen on charges of poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
According to Navy officials, a total of 20 fishermen were arrested off Thalaimannar, and four trawlers in their possession were seized. Another batch of 18 fishermen was arrested near Delft island or Neduntheevu. The Navy confiscated five trawlers in their possession.
This is the first instance of Indian fishermen’s arrest after Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj met in New Delhi on July 11. According to highly placed Foreign Ministry sources, the two countries had then >mutually agreed to go easy on the poaching fishermen as a gesture of goodwill. Last week nearly 40 fishermen were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy, but they were left after questioning.
