Four local fishermen were arrested today by Sri Lankan navy when they were fishing off Kodiakarai coast.
The fishermen - Manivannan, Mahadevan, Vetrivel and Selvaraj of Arucottuthurai fishing hamlet had ventured into the sea for fishing yesterday in a fibreglass boat.
When they were fishing in Indian waters a few knots South East off Kodiakarai this morning, the Sri Lankan navy personnel arrested them on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and took them to Sri Lanka, official sources said.
The navy personnel had yesterday arrested 20 fishermen of Rameswaram while fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet in the Palk Straits and allegedly cut the fishing nets of about 50 boats.
On February 1, 19 Indian fishermen were arrested and their five boats seized by the navy when they were allegedly fishing in Lankan waters.
Voicing dismay over continuing arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has told the Centre that such repeated actions undermine all confidence and goodwill which the two countries are attempting to build.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday, Jayalalithaa said she was at a "loss of words to convey my deep anguish over the repeated apprehension and incarceration" of a large number of fishermen.
