Nine Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy

Chennai, July 23 (IANS) Nine fishermen from Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday, for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) while fishing.

As per the information, the arrested were taken to Sri Lanka for further legal proceedings.

J. Thangavelu, leader of the Fishermen Association of Ramanathapuram, told IANS, "Sri Lankan Navy has arrested nine of our brethren. They will be taken into judicial custody and their boats will be confiscated. Our fishermen live in constant fear of arrest and boat confiscation. We have been raising this issue constantly but it's falling on deaf ears."

According to the fishermen's leader, more than 500 boats from Rameswaram ventured into the sea for fishing on Monday.

In a communique, Tamil Nadu's Fisheries Department said that all the arrested individuals were from Rameswaram in the Ramanathapuram district.

Tamil Nadu coastal police officials said that the Sri Lankan Navy seized two boats, one carrying five men, and the other with four fishermen.

The arrested from the first boat were identified as Muthumaralingam (60), Robert (49), Yacob (24), Radha (39), and Sekar (40).

Police said that the fishermen in the second boat were identified as Harikrishnan (50), Pon Ramaraj (26), Ramkumar (24), and Libin Sai (25).

The fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were arrested in the first week of this month, are still languishing in Lankan jails.

Sources in the Fishermen Association of Ramanathapuram told IANS that they were planning a major road blockade and protest against the arrest of fishermen and confiscation of costly mechanised boats by the Sri Lankan Navy.