Legal team to India to secure fishermen's release

Shirley Wijesinghe

The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister has decided to send a delegation including legal officers of the Ministry to India next week to discus the issue of Sri Lanka fishermen who are currently in Indian custody, a Ministry Senior Official told the Daily News yesterday.

Nearly 184 Sri Lankan fishermen, 51 in Andaman Islands, 64 in Visakhapatnam and 69 in Chennai are detained in India for illegally entering Indian waters.

Fishermen in the custody are from Negombo, Chilaw , Colombo and Wennappuwa areas.

The issue related to fishermen detained in Chennai is now over without a court case and they will be released shortly. Detainees in Visakhapatnam had been fined by the Court and discussion is being conducted to reduce the fine rate.

The issue of 51 detainees in the Andaman Island is yet to be resolved, Official explained the present situation.

He added that Sri Lanka Government has already commenced the discussions with the Indian High Commission to release the detainees under the custody of Indian Coastal Guard force. The above decision was taken after having series discussions held with the Indian Government through the Indian High Commission.