60 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan navy

At least 60 fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by Sri Lankan navy personnel while fishing near Katchatheevu today, an official from fishermen association said. The fishermen were taken to Neduntheevu police station in Sri Lanka and their 11 boats were also seized, Pamban Fishermen Association president U. Arulanandam said.

The fishermen from Thangachimadam here, part of a group which had ventured into the sea, were fishing near Kachatheevu, an islet in the Palk Straits ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974, when Lankan naval personnel allegedly attacked some of them with steel rods and rope, he said.

About 20 fishermen were injured in the attack and were treated at the Rameswaram government hospital before being shifted to other hospitals, he said.

Yesterday, 19 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the country’s waters, north of Talaimannar.