Protest rages as TN fishermen tonsured in Sri Lankan custody

MADURAI: The fishing community in coastal Ramanathapuram erupted in fury on Saturday after they learned that five fishers from Tamil Nadu, who were nabbed by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly trespassing into Lankan territorial waters, were tonsured before being released from jail.

Condemning the ill-treatment meted out to their fellow men, a large number of people from fishing families staged a protest in the coastal hamlet of Thangachimadam in Ramanathapuram district on Saturday.

S Emarit, president, Ramanathapuram District Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, who led the protest in the village, said it was sad and inhuman to note that five fishermen from the neighbourhood, who were apprehended on August 26 for allegedly trespassing into Sri Lankan waters and were released from jail on September 5, returned home with their heads tonsured.

“It is a humiliation on an unprecedented scale, not only for the fishing community but for the entire nation. They were made to shave their heads as a form of punishment. However, these fishermen did not trespass into the Lankan waters intentionally but by accident. They did not indulge in smuggling or drug trafficking. What made the Sri Lankan authorities to impose such a humiliating punishment,” Emarit asked.

These five fishermen, who were also made to pay a fine, are among eight fishers who ventured into the sea off Rameswaram last month. The remaining three fishers were imprisoned for six months and a fine of Rs 50,000 was also imposed on each of them, he said.