Fishermen Row: PM Narendra Modi talks to Sri Lankan Prez Rajapaksa on punishment

New Delhi, Nov 10: Prime Minister

discussed the death sentence of

fishermen with Sri Lankan President

. [Read:

]

Lankan Presidential Spokesperson Moha Samaranayake said that, "The talks were centred around the five Indian fishermen's issue but as of now I don't know any other details."

[Read: Will resolve sentenced fishermen issue with India, says Sri Lanka]

MEA's Syed Akbaruddin said that they will take up the matter diligently and that the Indian high commission is pursuing the issue about the capital punishment with Sri Lanka.

India has been tracking the case since 2011 when the fishermen were arrested, said Akbaruddin. The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka has been assisting the fishermen with legal aid. "We feel the fishermen are not guilty. We will follow the legal process and will do our best to get them back to India," he said.

The five Indian fishermen - Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath and J Langlet - all hailing from Tamil Nadu, were arrested in 2011 for alleged drug trafficking and were sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court on October 30.

The court verdict had led to protests in parts of Tamil Nadu and violence broke out in and around Rameswaram as a large number of people staged protests against the Sri Lankan court's verdict.

The arrest of Indian fishermen who stray into Lankan waters has long been an issue in Tamil Nadu.

OneIndia News