As many as 86 Indian fishermen have been arrested and their 10 fishing boats seized by the Sri Lanka Navy for allegedly poaching in the country's waters, naval officials said on Friday.
"Operation Sagar Bandhu ' Humanitarian Assistance. In the wake of the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah across Sri Lanka, India swiftly launched Operation Sagar Bandhu to bolster relief efforts," the Indian Air Force said in a post on X on Saturday.
The Indian Navy rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with 19 Pakistani crew members and a Sri Lankan trawler in two swift operations after armed pirates hijacked the boats in the Arabian Sea amid deteriorating security situation arising out of Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting various cargo ships in the region.
Nine fishermen from Tamil Nadu were set free by Sri Lankan authorities on Saturday within hours of being detained by the island nation's navy off Dhanushkodi near Rameshwaram, officials said. The fishermen were fishing in Indian waters when the Sri Lankan naval men allegedly assaulted them using rubber pipes and wood before taking them away in their boats, they said.
The Indian Air Force has stepped up its efforts to assist Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, deploying aircraft and helicopters for relief operations and evacuation of stranded citizens under Operation Sagar Bandhu.
Sri Lanka is facing a severe crisis after Cyclone Ditwah caused widespread flooding and landslides, resulting in numerous deaths and displacement. India has launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu' to provide relief. The situation is expected to remain critical with rising river levels and continued rainfall.
An investigation into the disappearance of a merchant navy cadet off the Sri Lankan coast reveals his last known location and details of the search efforts.
Cyclone Ditwah exits Sri Lanka after causing widespread destruction and over 120 deaths, heading towards the Indian coast. Heavy rains and high winds are expected to continue.
Sixteen fishermen of Rameswaram and their four boats were detained on Monday allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near the islet of Katchatheevu.
The seven, part of groups of fishermen who put out to sea from Rameswaram in TN, have been taken to Talaimannar in northern Sri Lanka.
Fifty-three fishermen, including 30 from Rameshwaram, were arrested by the Sri Lankan naval personnel off Talaimannar and Jaffna early Thursday morning, Fisheries Association officials said.
An inspiring spell from Shorna Akter (3/27) helped Bangladesh bowl out Sri Lanka for a modest 202 after Hasini Perera struck a career-best 85 in their must-win women's World Cup match in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
Twelve fishermen were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan Naval personnel in two separate incidents when they were fishing off the Tamil Nadu coast, officials said.
The naval personnel in five boats surrounded the boats of the fishermen and pelted stones at them, forcing them to leave the area without fishing on Wednesday night, the sources said.
The Lankan naval personnel cut fishing nets of about 70 boats and pelted stones and bottles forcing more than 2,000 fishermen to flee and return to the shore on Thursday morning.
The officials said the naval personnel in eight patrol boats intercepted about 200 fishermen in 130 boats off Katchathivu (an island ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974), assaulted them and took away their catch, their Global Positioning systems and batteries on Saturday night.
A group of fishermen from Tamil Nadu were on Tuesday allegedly attacked by Sri Lankan naval men while they were fishing near Katchatheevu, fisheries department officials said. The fishermen from this coastal area had ventured for fishing in 20 boats, officials said, adding, the Lankan naval men allegedly attacked them with ropes and steel pipes causing extensive damage to their fishing nets and communication equipment.
Four fishermen were injured on Thursday when they were attacked, allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel, while they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits. Sticks, bottles and stones were allegedly hurled by the Lankan naval personnel at the fishermen and their boats also suffered damage in the attack.
Eight fishermen of Sri nearby coastal Vedaranyam village were injured when they were allegedly attacked by Lankan naval personnel in mid-sea off Arukattuthurai in Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning, officials said.
Five fishermen were injured when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel near Katchathivu islet near the island nation. They were part of a group of 2,788 fishermen who had gone out to sea in 697 boats yesterday, fisheries department officials said.
Thirty Indian fishermen were injured when they were attacked at mid-sea off Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel, and their catch was taken away. Fisheries department officials said three Sri Lankan naval boats surrounded the fishermen while they were fishing in mid-sea on Monday night and beat them up, injuring 30 of them, besides damaging their boats by throwing stones.
The Sri Lankan authorities will hand over the fishermen to the Indian consulate after which they will be repatriated to India after completing all the necessary COVID-19 protocols.
Sri Lanka has released 14 Indian fishermen as a special gesture, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for resolving the issue with a "humane approach." The fishermen issue figured prominently during talks between Prime Minister Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Saturday. The fishermen issue is a contentious matter in India-Sri Lanka ties, with several alleged incidents of Sri Lankan Navy personnel using force against Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait. Modi stressed the need for a humane approach and the immediate release of the fishermen and their boats.
The arrest came as the group was departing Point Pedro in the northern Jaffna peninsula, Naval spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said, adding that among the arrested, 38 were men, 28 women and 14 children.
An Indian Navy ship on a patrol turned out to be the saviour of a large group of fishermen from here when they were allegedly being chased by Sri Lankan naval men close to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), fisheries officials said in Rameshwaram.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
The fishermen had not ventured into the sea for the past one week in protest against levying of tax on prawn import by the United States.
Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday intercepted a boat carrying 97 Tamil-origin Lankans, including 40 children, believed to be on their way to Australia illegally.
In yet another attack, an Indian fisherman was on Thursday injured when Sri Lankan naval personnel allegedly fired at some fishing boats off Kodiakarai coast, about 200 km from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, fisheries department officials said.
In the second such incident this week, 8 Tamil Nadu fishermen were on Thursday injured and 13 boats damaged when Sri Lankan Naval personnel allegedly attacked them near the International Maritime Boundary Line near Katchatheevu, officials said.
Twelve fishermen were injured and 20 boats damaged when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel for fishing in their territorial waters.
At least 34 Indian fishermen have been arrested and their boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in the country's waters, authorities in Colombo said on Tuesday.
Bringing the latest instance of the arrest of TN fishermen to the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stalin said 12 of them were arrested on Thursday and two mechanised fishing boats were seized by the Lankan Navy.
A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday ordered the release of 56 Indian fishermen who were detained for allegedly fishing in the island nation's territorial waters.
Sixteen fishermen from Rameswaram were injured in an alleged mid-sea attack by Sri Lankan naval personnel while fishing near the International Maritime Boundary Line in Palk Strait, the police said on Sunday.
India's concerns over a planned naval exercise between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the strategically important waters of Trincomalee led to the shelving of the drills weeks ago. The exercise was planned as part of regular engagements between the two navies, but India expressed its apprehensions to the Sri Lankan government. Trincomalee, situated on Sri Lanka's northeastern coast, is considered a significant hub in the Indian Ocean region, particularly for India's maritime security interests. The Pakistani Navy's close cooperation with China's PLA Navy has raised concerns in New Delhi about any Pakistani warship presence in Trincomalee. This incident follows previous diplomatic rows between India and Sri Lanka over the docking of Chinese vessels at Sri Lankan ports. India has been actively supporting Sri Lanka's development of Trincomalee's energy infrastructure and has recently signed a defense pact with the country to boost military cooperation.
India has lodged strong protest with the Sri Lankan government over the recent incidents of firing by the island nation's navy on Indian fishermen, a senior Coast Guard official said on Monday.
Six Tamil Nadu fishermen were injured on Tuesday when they were allegedly attacked by the Sri Lankan navy which briefly detained 13 others near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits.
Over 5,000 fishermen from various hamlets in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu on Thursday started an indefinite strike to protest the arrest of their fellow fishermen belonging to Akkaraipettai off Kodiakarai coast by the Sri Lankan Navy.
A day after Sri Lankan Navy released around 1,000 Tamil Nadu fishermen after detaining them for a day, thousands of fishermen from Rameshwaram launched an indefinite strike on Friday demanding protection and an end to recurring incidents of attacks by the island's navy.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances