Indian fishermen Muthu Muniandi (grey shirt) and Mookiah arrive at Rameswaram after the Sri Lankan Navy handed them over to their Indian counterparts in the early hours of August 3, 2024.
| Photo Credit: L. Balachandar
The Sri Lankan Navy personnel handed over two fishermen — Muthu Muniandi and Mookiah — and the mortal remains of fisherman Malaisamy to the Indian Navy near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), in the early hours of Saturday.
In another incident on Saturday, four fishermen from Pudukkottai district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing near Neduntheevu.
The fishermen identified as V. Saran, V. Bala, N. Ganesan, and K. Paramasivam had put out to sea on Saturday. They were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy at 1.30 p.m. on the charge of trespassing.
High Commission of India in Colombo and Consulate General of India in Jaffna, in cooperation with Government of Sri Lanka, secured the mortal remains of the deceased fisherman from Jaffna on August 2 night. Photo: X/@IndiainSL
Around 3 a.m., the Navy officials from the detachment in Rameswaram, accompanied by the Marine Police and officials from the Fisheries Department, received the body of the fisherman, Malaisamy, who had allegedly died after the mechanised boat he was on, with three others, was damaged by the Sri Lankan Navy personnel near Neduntheevu islet on Wednesday night.
The authorities brought the two fishermen back to the shore, by the Indian Navy ship, INS Bitra.
A pall of gloom descended upon the fisher colonies in the coastal habitation. Malaisamy’s family members were inconsolable.
The Sri Lankan Navy authorities said that the fishermen, on being pursued, apprehended arrest and jumped into the sea. A fisherman, Ramachandran, 64, went missing. The authorities detained the two who survived — Muthu Muniandi and Mookiah — and took them to Kankesanthurai for further interrogation.
After the Union government intervened, the Sri Lankan authorities released the two fishermen and handed over the mortal remains of Malaisamy.
Indefinite strike
The fishermen associations in Rameswaram had announced an indefinite strike, demanding that the Union government secure the release of all the 74 arrested fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were languishing in Sri Lankan prisons. They also urged the Centre to take steps to retrieve the mechanised boats impounded since 2018.
The Union government should arrange for a high-level meeting between the Sri Lankan fishermen from the Northern province and the delegation of fishermen from Tamil Nadu, fishermen leaders said. Only with talks between the fishermen of the two countries, could there be an amicable resolution to the issue, fishermen leader P.R. Sesu Raja told The Hindu.
“We have been fishing in the Katchatheevu islet for several decades. We should be allowed to continue fishing in the region without interruption,” he added.
Meanwhile, the boat of the four Pudukottai fishermen who were arrested was confiscated. They were taken to the Kankesanthurai Naval Base in Sri Lanka.
