Colombo (TIP)- Ten Indian fishermen who were arrested earlier this week for illegal fishing will be charged with the death of a Navy sailor who succumbed to the injuries sustained during an operation to seize their trawler, Sri Lankan authorities have said.
“They face charges for illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters, death of a naval person during the operation and for causing damage to naval property,” the Sri Lankan Navy said in statement issued on Wednesday.
The navy said the 10 fisherman were arrested on June 25 (local time) during a special operation conducted off Kankesanthurai Port in Jaffna district, northern Sri Lanka, for illegally fishing in the country’s waters.
A senior sailor from the navy Special Boat Squadron sustained critical injuries due to “the aggressive manoeuvres of the Indian trawler, resisting its seizure” during the operation, later succumbing to his injuries after being admitted to a hospital in Jaffna.
According a post mortem report, the sailor’s death was an accident, arising from damage to his spinal cord, the navy said. Indian officials did not officially comment on the development. After the operation, the fishermen were brought to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for legal proceedings. The local police had filed a ‘B’ report with the Mallakam Court in Jaffna, seeking their prosecution. A hearing in the matter is scheduled for July 22.
Illegal fishing is a contentious issue in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with fisherman from both sides arrested frequently for trespassing into the other country’s waters.
Sri Lanka Navy said it has arrested more than 200 Indian fishermen and seized 27 trawlers for illegal fishing so far this year. In 2023, it arrested 240 Indian fishermen along with 35 trawlers for allegedly “poaching” in Sri Lankan waters.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar informed Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday, June 27, that the Indian high commission in Colombo and the consulate in Jaffna have been taking up the issue of early release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Sri Lanka.
In a letter to Stalin, Jaishankar said that as of June 26, a total of 34 Indian fishermen were in judicial remand in Sri Lanka and six were serving sentences in jails there.
Jaishankar was responding to three letters sent by Stalin this month to raise the issue of fishermen from Tamil Nadu detained in Sri Lanka. He said that the “genesis of this issue goes back to 1974, following an understanding between the then Union government and the state government”.
Since 2014, the National Development Alliance (NDA) government has sought to address the livelihood interests and humanitarian aspects of the fishing community. “These efforts continue in their multiple dimensions, including through engaging the government of Sri Lanka,” he said. Source: HT