Sri Lankan sailor dies in Navy operation targeting Indian trawlers, 10 T.N. fishermen held
The Hindu
CM Stalin urges Union Minister Jaishankar to secure release of Tamil Nadu fishermen from Sri Lankan custody.
A sailor from the Sri Lankan Navy was killed in an operation targeting Indian fishermen and their fishing vessel in the early hours of Tuesday, June 25, 2024, according to Sri Lankan authorities.
As many as 10 Indian fishermen, seven from Nagapattinam, one from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu and two others from Andhra Pradesh were arrested on charges of illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters, off Kankesanthurai in Jaffna peninsula. The bottom trawler they used was also apprehended.
Following this, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to Union Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar requesting that he convene the Joint Working Group to secure the release of all the fishermen and their fishing boats from Lankan custody. He also insisted on measures to be taken to prevent such arrests in the future.
In an official statement the Sri Lanka Navy said it had conducted a special operation to “chase away Indian poaching trawlers from Sri Lankan waters”. While the patrol unit arrested the fishermen and seized the trawler, a sailor from the Navy Special Boat Squadron sustained critical injuries “due to the aggressive maneuvers of an Indian trawler, resisting its seizure”. The sailor succumbed to the injuries at the Teaching Hospital in Jaffna.
The Sri Lankan Navy said it “frequently encounters aggressive maneuvers by Indian trawlers”, that often result in injuries to naval personnel and damage to Navy’s ships and craft.
The arrested fishermen were identified as Mariyarasa Mariyalan (42) of Akkaraipettai, D. Wamanasamy (26) of Vanavanmahadevi, R. Muthu Chetti (62) of Akkaraipettai, K. Subramanian (61) of Akkaraipettai, K. Govindasamy (50) of Keechankuppam, M. Rajesh (40) of Akkaraipettai, S. Kalaimurugan (21) of Vanavanmahadevi, S. Manibalan (55) of Cuddalore, Gangala Korumaiya (36) of Visakhapattinam in Andhra Pradesh and Ayoji Venkat (39) of Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh.
They were taken to the Kankesanthurai Naval base, sources in Tamil Nadu said.
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