Three Sri Lankans, 5 TN fishermen held guilty of smuggling narcotics
The Indian government, which has been actively pursuing this case along with Tamil Nadu government for the last three years, maintained that it had done due diligence and found the TN fishermen to be innocent. (Photo: DC/File)
Colombo/Chennai: Five fishermen from Thangatchimadam near Rameswaram were sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court on Thursday for alleged drug trafficking, invoking a sharp reaction from India telling Colombo it would appeal to higher court within 14 days.
Emerson, Agastas, Wilson, Prasath and Langlet were arrested by the Lankan navy on November 28, 2011, for allegedly possessing two kilos of brown sugar when their boat was apprehended close to Neduntheevu in Lankan waters. The fishermen have stoutly denied the drug charge. Along with the five Indians, three Sri Lankans too have been sentenced to death in the same case by Colombo high court judge Preethi Padman Surasena.
The Indian government, which has been actively pursuing this case along with Tamil Nadu government for the last three years, maintained that it had done due diligence and found the TN fishermen to be innocent. India would once again take up with Colombo the fishermen’s innocence and the high commission in Colombo would appeal to the higher court against their conviction, external affairs ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said in Delhi. Also, a senior MEA official spoke to the Sri Lankan high commissioner in Delhi while the Indian high commissioner in Colombo got in touch with the host government on this case.
Angered by the death penalty, the fishermen in Rameswaram along with their women and children blocked roads and disrupted rail services. An angry mob set fire to a government bus.
Chief minister O. Panneerselvam issued a statement in Chennai insisting that the five TN fishermen were innocent and the drug charge was fabricated.
“It is quite apparent that these bonafide and innocent fishermen have not received a fair trial and have become victims of a hidden agenda”, he said, urging Delhi to immediately take up the matter with the ‘highest authorities’ in Sri Lanka and ensure that the fishermen returned home at the earliest.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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