Colombo releases 38 fishers in custody ahead of Indian polls
Sri Lanka has released 38 Indian fishermen who had been arrested while poaching in Sri Lankan territorial waters, a statement issued by New Delhi said.
Indian authorities said that they were repatriated on April 3 and 16 in two batches – 19 each amidst the ongoing BJP attacks on Congress-DMK alliance over giving up Katchatheevu, ahead of the Indian general elections held on a staggered basis. The voting will commence on Friday (19). The last round of voting will take place on June 1.
Nineteen Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody were on Tuesday (16) repatriated to India, the Indian High Commission said. “19 Indian fishermen have been repatriated from Sri Lanka and are currently on their way to Chennai,” the Indian High Commission here said in a post on X.
The Navy has so far held 23 Indian trawlers and 178 Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in the island nation’s waters thus far in 2024, and handed them over to authorities for legal action, the Sri Lankan Navy late last month confirmed in a statement.
The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters.
On April 3, 19 Indian fishermen, detained by the Sri Lanka Navy, were repatriated to India after being released by authorities here.
The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries. Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other’s waters.
In 2023, Sri Lankan Navy arrested 240 Indian fishermen along with 35 trawlers for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
