Three Sri Lankan fishermen held off Vedaranyam coast
NAGAPATTINAM : The Coastal Security Group On Wednesday arrested three Sri Lankan fishermen near Vedaranyam for allegedly poaching in foreign waters. The arrested fishermen said they got stranded due to a snag in their boat.
On Wednesday, Coastal Security Group in Vedaranyam received information from local fishermen about a group of three Sri Lankan fishermen anchoring their boats three nautical miles off Kodiyakarai. The arrested fishermen have been identified as A Srikanthan (37) of Anaikottai, S Sivakumar (25) of Valvettithurai and P Ronald Reagan (40) of Guru Nagar Jaffna district. They said they ventured into the sea from Eluvaitivu on August 6.
Although they claimed to had ventured for fishing, the marine officers couldn’t find any catch in their vessel. “They had only a net in their boat. We are inquiring if they had any other reason to cross the IMBL,” said K Jothimuthuramalingam, inspector at the marine police station in Vedaranyam.
The three have been booked under the Maritime Zones Of India Act. They will be produced at the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Chennai, and remanded to the central prison in Puzhal. It may be noted that individuals from Sri Lanka had in the recent past crossed the IMBL to procure cannabis.