Chennai, Sep 23 (IANS): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday wrote to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar seeking immediate release of fishermen and their boats from the custody of Sri Lankan authorities.

Stalin in a letter to the Union Minister pointed out that the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 37 fishermen from Tamil Nadu on September 21. He also said that the costly mechanised boats of these fishermen were also in the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy.

The Chief Minister sought the intervention of the Union Minister for the immediate release of Tamil Nadu fishermen from the custody of Sri Lanka. In the letter, he also requested the Minister to speak to the Sri Lankan government against levying hefty fines on the arrested Tamil Nadu fishermen and to provide legal assistance to those arrested.

Stalin also expressed deep anguish at the regular arrest of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan authorities even while fishing in Indian waters. He also called upon the Union Minister to take strong measures to stop the Sri Lankan authorities from arresting the Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

It may be recalled that the Tamil Nadu fishermen have been regularly facing problems from the Sri Lankan authorities.

On August 1, 2024, an Indian fisherman from Tamil Nadu died after his fishing boat capsized when a Sri Lankan Navy coastal patrol vessel rampaged into it. One fisherman went missing while two others in the fishing boat were arrested. They were later handed over to the Indian authorities.

At present 87 fishermen from Tamil Nadu are languishing in Sri Lankan jails and around 35 mechanised fishing boats are in the custody of Sri Lankan authorities.

Recently, a Sri Lankan Naval shop had rampaged into a fishing boat and the collision resulted in significant losses, including nets, GPS equipment, cell phones, and fishing gear worth approximately Rs 6.50 lakh, which were washed away in the sea.

The incident occurred off the southeast coast of Kodiyakkarai when a fibre boat owned by Dharman, a resident of Seruthur fishing village in Nagapattinam district, was out at sea.

The fishermen had informed the Tamil Nadu Marine police that their boat was allegedly struck by a Sri Lankan Navy vessel, causing it to capsize. They had also told Marine Police authorities that the Sri Lankan Navy had left them struggling at sea, tangled in their nets and injured.

Nagapattinam marine police had in a statement said that they have recorded the affected fishermen’s statements and would conduct an inquiry based on the same.