India raises killing of fishermen with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday expressed deep concern at the killing of an Indian fishermen in the firing by Sri Lankan Navy.
The Indian High Commission in Colombo has raised the matter with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Indian government has been apprised that the Sri Lankan Navy will be probing the matter.
"Government of India is deeply concerned at the killing of an Indian fisherman. Our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has taken up the matter with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka," sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said.
A 22-year-old fisherman, Britso, hailing from Tamil Nadu was shot dead near the Palk Strait on Monday. The Sri Lankan navy initially denied that it fired at the Indian fishermen contending that its mandate was only to seize boats and arrest the Indian fishermen. However, it has promised a thorough investigation into the matter.
The relation between two countries have been tensed for a long time as in the past as well there have been several alleged incidents of Sri Lankan Navy personnel firing at Indian fishermen fishing in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats.The Palk Strait, which is a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both the countries.
The two countries had formed a Joint Working Group to resolve the issues. The first meeting was on January 2.
The island nation has been particularly against the demands for relaxation of norms for fishermen from Tamil Nadu to use fishing trawlers.