Lanka arrests 65 Indian fishermen

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Nagapattinam: Sixtyfive fishermen in nine trawlers, all hailing from Nagapattinam and Karaikkal districts, have been reportedly detained by the Sri Lankan navy for allegedly violating the international maritime boundary line (IMBL).
 
According to agency re­p­orts from Colombo, naval spokesman Com­man­der Ko­sala Warna­kulasuriya said 34 fishermen in five trawlers were arrested off the coast north of Point Pedro in the north on Tuesday while another 31 were arrested east of Mullaithivu along with four vessles.
 
The arrest came on Tue­s­day night and the fisherm­en have been handed over to the authorities at Point Pedro in the north and the eastern port districts of Tri­ncomalee, the reports said.
 
The officials of fisheries department in Nagapatti­nam district, however, refused to confirm this information stating that they were yet to get any official communication in this regard.
 
The owners of the five trawlers seized by the Sri Lankan navy off the coast north of Point Pedro were identified as Elamurugan of Nambiar Nagar, Mathi of Akkaraipettai, Chinnai­y­­an of Keechankuppam, Ve­­­erakumar of Karaik­k­al­medu and Veerasamy of Ki­l­injalmedu, sources said.