KARAIKAL: A Sri Lankan court on Monday ordered the release of 13 Indian fishermen who were arrested in late January after a scuffle at sea in which one among them was injured in firing by the navy.
The court levied a penalty of Sri Lankan Rupees 9,000 each amounting a total of 1.17 lakh (Indian Rupees 34,560 ) for violation of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing in Sri Lankan waters and another penalty of Sri Lankan Rupees 3.36 lakh (Indian Rupees 1 lakh) for damaging a Sri Lankan naval vessel.
The fishers were handed over to the Indian consulate while their mechanised boat remained impounded. The 13 fishers from Karaikal in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu had ventured into sea in a mechanised boat from the Karaikal harbour on January 27. The Sri Lankan Navy had arrested them the following day for allegedly crossing the IMBL.
In an aggressive confrontation, C Senthamizh (27) from Kilinjalmedu in Karaikal district was shot and injured by Sri Lankan Navy. Senthamizh was treated at Teaching Hospital in Jaffna, while 12 others were detained in Jaffna Prison. After detaining the fishers and extending their detention after a series of hearings, the Magistrate Court in Mallakam ordered their release on Monday.
Boat owner K Ananthavel told TNIE, "We thank the Union and Puducherry governments for their assistance in releasing our men. However, we seek further assistance in retrieving our mechanised boat as it is our source of income." The Karaikal fishers, meanwhile, stopped fishing for two weeks and organised a series of protests seeking their release. All fishers are expected to be repatriated in a week.