15 TN fishermen arrested by SL return to Chennai

CHENNAI: As many as 15 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were arrested by the Sri Lankan government, returned to Chennai on Tuesday.

A group of 15 fishermen from Rameshwaram went to the sea on two boats last month. While they were in the middle of the sea the Sri Lankan Coast Guard surrounded the fishermen, seized the boats and arrested all of them for allegedly crossing the marine border. Later, they were lodged in prison by the government.

Following that the families of the fishermen requested the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to take steps to release them, following which Stalin wrote a letter to the Central government and requested to take action. Later, with the help of the Indian Embassy, all fishermen were released and they were handed over to the officials. The Indian Embassy arranged emergency visas for all of them and they returned to Chennai from Colombo on an Air India flight on Tuesday.

At the airport, officials from the Fisheries Department welcomed them and arranged transport for their natives. On behalf of the BJP party, Sasikala Pushpa also visited the airport and welcomed the fishermen.