Protests rocked different parts of Tamil Nadu for the second day on Friday against the capital punishment awarded by a Sri Lankan court to five Indian fishermen for alleged drug trafficking.
In a mishap off south Goa-Karwar coast, two fishermen died and four others went missing after a ship collided with a fishing trawler early Thursday morning.
Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 53 Indian fishermen in the last 24 hours for allegedly entering its waters illegally, prompting India to summon Lankan deputy high commissioner in New Delhi.
The boat was spotted off the Mumbai coast during patrolling on Tuesday morning, a police official said.
Assistant Director of Fisheries, Veeran, said the Lankan Navy had informed them through the Coast Guard that the fishermen had landed there by accident on Sunday, and they were to be released on Monday after being found innocent.
Around 100 Indian fishermen who have been detained by Sri Lankan police are likely to be granted bail on Wednesday. Sri Lanka's Deputy minister of External Affairs, Neomal Perera told PTI that the fishermen will be produced before a magisterial court. "This is a bailable offence," he said.
Taking exception to the continued arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu government has told the Centre that Colombo's "dubious actions" has resulted in the situation at sea remaining "precarious."
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.
State Revenue and Disaster Minister S N Patro said the men jumped from the trawlers and swam to safety at Ersama in Jagatsinghpur district.
Four Sri Lankan fishermen were arrested in Tamil Nadu for fishing in Indian waters on Wednesday, taking the total number of such fishermen apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard to 65 during the last week.
The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the ministry of external affairs, based on a complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari, about barbaric killings of more than 500 fishermen in the past few decades by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Despite the Coast Guard's best efforts to discourage Indian fishermen from crossing into Sri Lankan waters, they continue to do so for a better catch.
Pakistan on Friday announced it would free 51 Indian fishermen who had completed their prison terms as a gesture of goodwill.
Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar's report on the fishermen arrested by Iran gets government moving, MEA sanctions money for their flight home
India's external affairs ministry has said that the government will appeal against the judgment of a court in Sri Lanka to sentence five Indian fishermen to death.
Forty-six fishermen from Tamil Nadu and 10 from Kerala have been detained since October 10 in Iran by the coast guard there for crossing into Iranian waters while fishing, a top representative of the South Asian Fishermen Fraternity said on Wednesday.
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.
Twenty fishermen from Tamil Nadu were allegedly assaulted by Sri Lankan naval men while they were fishing near Katchathivu islet early on Monday morning, officials said.
Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday said it would release 30 Sri Lankan fishermen and 19 boats on December 22 and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prevail on the island nation to take similar action at the same time to set free fishermen from the state and their boats.
Pakistani authorities issued orders for the release and repatriation of 442 Indian fishermen in the wake of a case filed in the Supreme Court regarding their unlawful detention.
'Modi is trying avenues to convince people why they should vote for the BJP.'
The 19 Indian fishermen, who were reported missing since May 5 after heading out to sea from Thangachimadam near Rameswaram, have been taken into custody by Sri Lankan naval personnel, according to the coastal security police.
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.
Observing that Indian fishermen hailing from Tamil Nadu have been "traditionally fishing" in contentious Katchatheevu, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask Colombo to stop its navy from harassing them.
Sri Lanka on Friday released 136 Indian fishermen who were apprehended for allegedly poaching in its waters, a day after India conveyed its deep concern over their detention and sought their release.
Over 5,000 fishermen from various hamlets in the district on Thursday commenced on an indefinite strike protesting the arrest of their fellow fishermen belonging to Akkaraipettai off Kodiakarai coast by the Sri Lankan navy.
Two courts in Tamil Nadu have ordered the release of 61 Sri Lankan fishermen arrested between July and November last year.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to facilitate a dialogue between fishermen associations in the state and Sri Lanka in Chennai in December following frequent attacks and arrests of fishermen by naval personnel of the island nation.
The government has impressed upon the Sri Lankan navy to act with restraint and not to fire on Indian fishermen sailing along the International Maritime Boundary Line, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Authorities seized boats and Global Positioning System equipment from the persons who were arrested on Thursday, police said.
The Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PMSA) has arrested five fishermen and seized one fishing boat from the international waters near Jakhau of Kutch district, secretary of national fish forum claimed on Wednesday.
Voicing concern over Tamil Nadu fishermen being caught by Sri Lankan navy, the Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and state government on petitions filed by Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam members of Parliament for release of those languishing in jails there.
Any official-level talks between India and Sri Lanka, without any clear-cut understanding on the livelihood issues, could end up in India having to acknowledge bilaterally even more than what it had no hesitation in accepting in Parliament and outside, says N Sathiya Moorthy
According to the Fisheries Department officials, Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrived in intercepter boats and opened fire on Monday night. They completely damaged one boat, beat up the fishermen and took away the fish and nets.
A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered release of 19 Tamil Nadu fishermen, who were arrested by Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in the island republic's waters on October 14, fisheries department officials said.
Five fishermen from Rameswaram were allegedly beaten up by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they crossed the international maritime boundary line and netted fish near Katchativu islet early Thursday morning, officials said.
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.
It maybe time for the Centre to take a closer look at Chief Minister Jayalalitha's innovative' solution to a long-pending problem, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Taking a serious note of the killing of two Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, India on Tuesday told Colombo that the use of force against them should not be repeated and asked it to take a decision that will not upset bilateral ties. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna also directed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to convene a meeting of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on the issue around February 15 to discuss the issue.
Pakistan on Saturday released all Indian fishermen who have completed their jail terms as a goodwill gesture for External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's visit to Islamabad. "All Indian fishermen who have completed their jail term have been released as a goodwill gesture for Krishna's visit," Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik said after signing the new liberalised visa agreement with the Indian minister.
