Eight TN fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy

Chennai, Sep 20 (IANS) Eight fishermen from Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai district were arrested on Tuesday by the Sri Lankan Navy for crossing the International Marine Border Line (IMBL) and reaching the island nation's territorial waters.

The fishermen had ventured to the sea from the Jegadapattinam fishing harbour on Monday morning, the Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group told reporters, adding that they were arrested at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

The eight have been identified as Tamilselvan (37) who is the owner of the mechanized fishing vessel, C. Viji (38), A. Dinesh (26), G. Ranjith (27), S. Pakkirasamy (45), S. Kamal (25), S. Punudhu (41) and M. Karthik (28).

They were taken to the Kankesenthurai naval base in Sri Lanka.

Several Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for crossing the IMBL and at Katchatheevu island.

In protest, the fishermen community had blocked roads Pudukottai and Rameswaram demanding the release of their colleagues as well as the vessels seized by the Sri Lankan authorities, triggering a heavy financial burden on the families of those arrested.