Eight TN fishermen held by Lanka; One tries to end life

Chennai

Eight fishermen from Nagapattinam district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on the charge of fishing in the island waters, a fisheries department official said. The arrest is the third such detention by the Lankan Navy this week. A total of 61 fishermen are now in Lankan custody. Nagapattinam Joint Director of Fisheries Amala Xavier said the group of eight fishermen from Akkarapettai had put out to sea in a mechanised boat on March 1. The fishermen were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy around midnight on Friday, he said. As the Lankan Naval personnel turned down the fishermen’s plea to let them go, 35-year-old Sarath allegedly broke a glass bottle in the boat and swallowed the pieces, he said. The fisherman had been admitted to a government hospital in Triconamalee in Eastern Sri Lanka, he added.