Chennai, Dec 11: Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President K Annamalai has written a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar requesting the ministry’s intervention for the repatriation of 12 fishermen who have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy.
“We bring to your kind attention the arrest of 12 Tamil fishermen from Nagapattinam by the Sri Lankan Navy on December 9, and their fishing boat bearing registration number IND-TN-06-MM-7675 was also apprehended. We request the kind intervention of our External Affairs Ministry for the early repatriation of the detainees and the release of their fishing boat,” Annamalai said in the letter.
The Sri Lankan navy detained 25 Indian fishermen from Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in the Union territory of Puducherry along with their two trawlers on Saturday (December 9). Of the arrested, 12 were hailing from the Akkaraipettai fishing hamlet in Nagapattinam and 13 fishermen from Kilinjalmedu in Karaikal.
According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the fishermen were allegedly involved in ‘illegal poaching’ and were detained after a special operation on Saturday night. The apprehended fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action.
Last month, 27 Indian fishermen were released by the Sri Lankan authorities. They returned to the Chennai airport on separate days in sets of 12 and 15. A total of 33 Indian trawlers and 220 Indian fishermen have been apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2023 till now, the statement added.