COLOMBO/RAMESWARAM: Eight Indian fishermen have been arrested and their trawler seized by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the country's waters, according to an official statement.
A naval ship made the arrest in the seas, 16 nautical miles off the Arippu area, for "illegal fishing" in the island nation's waters, according to a statement of the Sri Lankan Navy.
The arrested fishermen were taken to a naval base for a medical examination.
Later, they were handed over to the authorities, the statement said.
A Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department official in Rameswaram said the fishermen belong to Tuticorin.
He said a court at Puttalam in Sri Lanka remanded them to judicial custody till September 3.
Meanwhile, fishermen associations in India alleged that the Sri Lankan authorities put the arrested people in chains while taking them to the court in violation of norms.
On August 10, a total of 27 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Lankan Navy on the charge of fishing in the island nation's waters.
The Lankan Navy had also impounded four country boats of the fishermen.