Sri Lankan fisherman apprehended by Indian Coast Guard

Chennai, March 30 (IANS) The Indian Coast Guard officials have apprehended a Sri Lankan fisherman for allegedly fishing in Indian waters.

He was arrested on Tuesday in the southeast of Kodiyakkarai near Nagapattinam. The mechanised boat used by the Sri Lankan fisherman was also impounded by the Coast guard authorities.

He was handed over to the Coastal Security group of the Tamil Nadu Police on Tuesday night. The man was booked at the Vedaranyam Marine Police station under the Maritime Zones of India Act 1981.

The man was identified as Santhan from Valluvettiturai in the Jaffna district of Sri Lanka.

After arresting him, the Coast Guard tried to tow his boat to Nagapattinam. Sources told IANS that the boat capsized several times in the hard sea and it took nearly 20 hours to tow the boat to the shore.

Officials said he would be taken to the Metropolitan Magistrate court, Chennai on Wednesday.