RAMESWARAM: The Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday arrested 12 fishermen from Rameswaram and seized a mechanised fishing boat for allegedly violating the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
Fisheries department sources said that more than 350 boats ventured into the sea from the Rameswaram fishing harbour on Monday night.
In the early hours of Tuesday, an unregistered mechanised fishing boat carrying 12 fishermen reportedly strayed into Sri Lankan waters. The Sri Lankan Navy intercepted the vessel between Dhanushkodi and Thalaimannar and took the fishermen, along with the boat, to the naval camp at Thalaimannar for further legal proceedings.
Officials identified the boat owner as A. Jothibas of Manthoppu, Thangachimadam, near Rameswaram. The arrested fishermen, all hailing from Thangachimadam, were identified as K. Prabath, S. Santhiya Nivastan, V. James Heiton, C. Kayus Raj, A. Toja, A.A. Antony Telman, P. Akpo Nijo, J.R. Maria Ando Peston, A. Korpasev, A. Mathanson, S. Nimal Sagayam, and J. Ananth.
The arrests, coming just ahead of Christmas celebrations, have plunged fishing hamlets in Rameswaram into grief. Fishermen’s associations urged the Centre to intervene and secure the early release of the fishermen and their boat.