19 fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy
The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 19 more Tamil fishermen in the early hours of Thursday allegedly at gunpoint.
Fishermen had left from port in 400 fishing boats on Wednesday morning after acquiring the necessary permission from fisheries department.
While they had cast their nets in the sea between Dhanushkodi and Neduntheevu, Sri Lankan Navy surrounded them and chased the fishing party away while seizing boats belonging to two fishermen, Alex and Anthony Sasikumar.
The Sri Lankan Navy then arrested 19 fishermen, including two migrant workers from Odisha, claiming that they had crossed the International Maritime border.
Fishermen who returned to the port alleged that the Lankan Navy personnel damaged their nets and even attacked them after getting on their boats.
The fishermen also claimed that Lankan Navy personnel threatened them with guns.
Some fishermen claimed that they had incurred a loss of Rs 90,000 per boat due to the incident.