Twelve fishermen were injured and 20 boats damaged when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel for fishing in their territorial waters.
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.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Sunday said the law of the country would take its own course in fishermen killing case in which the crew of an Italian ship fired at and killed two Indians off Kollam coast in Kerala.
In continuing instances of arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Naval personnel, 11 fishermen fishing in the sea between Katchatheevu and Neduntheevu were arrested on Tuesday.
Nineteen fishermen, who ventured into the sea from Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, were on Thursday arrested by the Sri Lankan navy when they went for fishing in the Palk Strait, officials said.
Fifty fishermen from Nagapattinam and Karaikal have been arrested by the Sri Lankan
Antony said the government would take all 'humanly possible' steps to protect the rights of fishermen.
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.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his country's soil will not be used against India's interests, addressing concerns over China's growing influence in Colombo. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including a defense cooperation agreement, energy ties, and debt restructuring. They also agreed to initiate a ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and to adopt a "humanitarian approach" to the fishermen issue.
The Sri Lankan government on Friday reached out to fishermen community of Tamil Nadu as President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother and economic development minister Basil met their delegation here with a promise of addressing their concerns.
In the wake of arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking laying down a time-bound action plan to achieve a "long-term, permanent solution to the problem and also to put in place a strong and robust diplomatic response".
"Presently, there are no Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody on fisheries related charges. However, some Indian nationals have been arrested in Sri Lankan waters on charges of smuggling narcotics and contrabands," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in Rajya Sabha.
In a goodwill gesture, Sri Lankan Naval personnel, often accused of using strong-arm tactics, on Thursday offered refreshments to a group of Indian fishermen from in Rameswaram when they were fishing near Katchatheevu.
Houses in low lying areas of Kerala were flooded in the heavy rains, while the accompanying strong winds uprooted trees, damaged homes and caused power disruptions, throwing normal way of life into disarray across the state.
Pakistan government repatriated 172 Indian fishermen and one civil prisoner on Monday.
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."
The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
The Sri Lankan navy on Wednesday detained as many as 327 Indian fishermen when they were fishing in the Palk Strait, and later released 227 of them, officials said.
96 Indian fishermen, who were released by Pakistan will be reaching Veraval town in Saurashtra where they will reunite with their family members after a gap of two years. These fishermen were arrested by Pakistan for straying across the border.
The recent rise in number of deaths of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan naval forces has raised an alarm in New Delhi. Politicians from Tamil Nadu met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday to brief him on the recent killings on the Sri Lankan waters, and also gave him a memorandum on the same.
'Our vision for the future includes the creation of an active ecosystem, human space flight, a human space station.'
Indian Coast Guard has arrested 25 Sri Lankan fishermen on charges of trespassing and illegal fishing in Indian waters, official sources said on Monday. The fishermen were illegally fishing in five boats in Indian waters 48 nautical miles east of Velankanni when they were arrested on Sunday night, they said.
A Special Investigation Team of the Kerala Police on Saturday began the search and ballistic examination of weapons on board oil tanker Enrica Lexie in the presence of Italian experts who arrived in Kochi on Saturday morning from Rome. Police will seize and seal the fire arms, suspected to have been used by the two arrested Italian naval guards Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, in the killing of two Indian fishermen off Kollam coast on February 15.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi on Saturday called his Indian counterpart S M Krishna over the killing of two Indian fishermen by the guards of an Italian oil tanker off Kollam coast in Kerala. Krishna told Terzi that the captain the Italian oil tanker must cooperate with Indian law enforcers. Krishna said the law should be allowed to take its own course in connection with the incident.
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.
Holding that it was not within its purview, a local court today rejected the bail plea of two Italian marines on board the ship 'Enrica Lexie', who are charged with shooting dead two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast, and extended their judicial remand for another 14 days.
The two Italian marines of 'Encrica Lexie', who shot dead Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15 had used two Beretta rifles to commit the offence, according to the report of the forensic sciences laboratory
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on asked Sri Lanka to observe 'restraint' while dealing with Indian fishermen who stray into its waters during talks with his counterpart G L Peiris, who is in New Delhi to explain his country's position on a United Nations report accusing it of "war crimes".
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to deposit in its account the compensation given by Italy for the kin of two Indian fishermen killed by Italian Marines off the Kerala coast in February 2012.
The fishing boats Allar-dan had 15 fishermen and Farhad 16 fishermen in them.
Against the backdrop of frequent attacks against Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to advise Colombo in 'strong terms' to refrain from such 'uncalled for attacks'. Karunanidhi, who arrived in Delhi on a three-day visit on Sunday, met Dr Singh at his 7, Race Course Road residence and took up the issue of recent 'brutal attacks' by the Sri Lankan Navy on fishermen from TN.
The radar, manufactured in Britain, is capable of detecting even a small rowing boat, commander of the Naval Detachment Rathode Mukherjee said.
If the fishermen were not allowed to fish in their traditional areas (Katchatheevu), they would be left with no other alternative except to commit suicide like distressed farmers, they said.
A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and J Chelameswar, also recorded Kerala senior counsel V Giri's submission that the state would not pursue the trial proceedings pending outcome of the apex court's judgement.
Will Foreign Minister Mr. Jaishankar please refer to the RTI reply dated 27-1-2015...The Reply justified the circumstances under which India acknowledged that a small island belonged to Sri Lanka," Chidambaram said.
'The minister said we should stop fishing near the shore and start going for deep sea fishing.'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday sought Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's personal intervention for a firm action to put an end to Sri Lankan navy's firing on Indian fishermen.
The coastal areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are expected to experience the "kallakkadal phenomenon" on January 15 night, causing rough waves and a possible sea surge. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has issued an alert, advising coastal residents to move to safer locations and avoid venturing into the sea.
Italian oil tanker Enrica Lexie, from which gunshots were fired killing two Indian fishermen off Alappuzha, has been brought to Kochi early on Friday and police and coast guard personnel are questioning the crew.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of going against the interests of fishermen in coastal states.
