3 Indian Fishermen Freed from Sri Lanka Return Home After Diplomatic Push

In a post on X, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, through their official X handle 'India in Sri Lanka', said, "Three Indian fishermen repatriated from Sri Lanka today and are on their way home."

Earlier on Tuesday, 30 Indian fishermen arrived in Sri Lanka and made their way back home safely. 21 of them were from Ramanathapuram, while 9 others were from Karaikal.

The fishermen, hailing from Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, and Karaikal regions, had ventured into the sea on February 15 in two boats for fishing.

They were alleged to have crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line, and were thus apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy, who seized their boats and took them to Sri Lanka.

The fishermen were later produced before a court in Mallakam and subsequently lodged in a prison in Jaffna.

Following the incident, both the Central and State governments initiated diplomatic efforts for their release. Additionally, Puducherry-based LJK leader Charles Martin took legal steps through lawyers to secure the fishermen's release.

As a result of these combined efforts, the Sri Lankan government released all the fishermen on March 31. They were then handed over to officials of the Indian High Commission in Colombo.

After undergoing medical examinations and being issued emergency travel documents, the fishermen departed from Colombo by flight and arrived at Chennai International Airport.

Upon arrival, they completed customs and immigration formalities. The Fisheries Department officials later escorted them in a special vehicle to their respective hometowns.

Previously, Sri Lankan MP Harsha de Silva told ANI that the issue of Indian fishermen in Sri Lanka is a perennial issue and will not go away soon because both sides depend on fishing for a living.

"This is a perennial issue, you know it's not going away because I think on both sides of the straits, you know, folks are depending on fish for their living. These are not, you know, big corporates these are small fishermen, and when the Indian trawlers come, and you can see the satellite images, you know, they do not come in dozens but rather in hundreds, and they go back, so the issue, I think, is a complicated one. You can't just say this is the line so you stay here, and you know somehow stay on this," he said.

Silva then said that it is more of a legal issue than a political one.

"Yes, every foreign minister and deputy foreign minister worked on this. It is about bottom trawling and whether bottom trawling is a traditional fishing method, and you know, does it destroy the seabed? But as I said, I think the solution is economics-related, not legal," he said.

The issue of frequent arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities has remained a longstanding concern between the two countries, particularly affecting fishing communities in Tamil Nadu.

- ANI