Sri Lankan navy arrests 17 Indian fishermen mid sea

Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Nov 17 (UNI) Sri Lankan Navy reportedly arrested 17 Indian fishermen near Katchatheevu Island for allegedly trespassing into Sri Lankan territorial waters today.

A senior official of Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department told UNI over telephone from Pudukkottai that about 486 mechanised fishing boats had set sail for fishing from the coastal village of Jegadhapattinam in Pudukkottai district yesterday morning. Except five boats with 17 fishermen, the remaining boats returned to the shore, today.

The Sri Lankan navy seized the five fishing trawlers and arrested the fishermen early today, according to a communication received by the State fisheries department from the Sri Lankan government.

They were lodged in Kangesanthurai police station in the Island nation, he added.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed in the coastal hamlets of Pudukkottai district over the incident.

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