Sri Lankan Navy apprehends 21 fishermen, seizes two boats

N Devadass, the head of the Rameswaram Fishermen Association, said that the Sri Lankan Navy had taken two of the fishermen's boats and arrested 21 individuals.

Over 480 boats sailed from Rameswaram the sea to catch fish yesterday. According to Devadass, the Sri Lankan navy arrived at night when the fishermen were fishing in the Palkbay sea region between Appadeevu and Nedundeevu. They arrested all 21 people and seized their boats.

The fishermen were sent to the Kangesanturai naval installation by the Sri Lankan Navy for further inquiry after they claimed to have come to fish from across the border. "This is causing turmoil among the Rameswaram fishermen," he stated.

In a different instance, the families of four fishermen who had been detained protested in Ramanathapuram on Friday, calling for their release following their imprisonment in Kuwait the previous year.

The family members claimed that they were wrongfully accused in a December 2023 narcotics smuggling case.

On December 5, 2023, four fishermen were taken into custody: Vinodkumar, a fisherman from Pasipattanam; Santhuru, a fisherman from the Morpannai region; and Sesu and Karthik, fishermen from Tiruppalaikudi, Ramanathapuram district.

The district collector's office was the scene of a protest by the Ramanathapuram District Maritime Workers' Union, who were demanding their immediate release from the Kuwaiti jail as prisoners of trial.

There, a drug smuggler operating a boat was apprehended. The union members alleged that the case of unlawful drug smuggling included four fishermen from Tamil Nadu who had nothing to do with the issue.

Along with their families, about 500 residents of the fishing villages of Tirupalaikudi, Morpannai, and Pasipattinam gathered and used chants to highlight their concerns.