Four Kakinada Fishermen Released From Jaffna, To Return Home On Sept. 30
The fishermen departed Mandapam on a boat escorted by the Indian Coast Guard and are expected to reach Kakinada on 30 September: Reports
VIJAYAWADA: Four fishermen from Kakinada, who were detained in Jaffna of Sri Lanka, for over seven weeks, have been released and are scheduled to return home on 30 September 2025. The fishermen—K. Srinu Venkateswar, Karri Nookaraj Borriya, Chanda Nageswara Rao, and Brahmanandam—were freed following persistent efforts by the Andhra Pradesh government through its officials at AP Bhavan, New Delhi.
The fishermen departed Mandapam on a boat escorted by the Indian Coast Guard and are expected to reach Kakinada on 30 September. They had initially left Kakinada on 3 August to Nagapattinam to purchase a second-hand fishing trawler. On their return, a navigation error led their boat into Sri Lankan waters near Jaffna, where they were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy on August 4 and detained in Jaffna Jail.
Although a civil court in Jaffna ordered their release on 12 September, procedural delays postponed their repatriation until the recent handover. The fishermen were handed over to the Indian Coast Guard by the Sri Lankan Coast Guard at the Mandapam naval base near the international maritime boundary on 26 September.
Officials stated that AP government authorities at AP Bhavan, Delhi, maintained continuous communication with the Indian High Commission in Colombo and Sri Lankan authorities. Additional resident commissioner Arja Srikanth played a key role in negotiations, coordinating with the Indian Coast Guard and Sri Lankan Coast Guard officials, including ICG director Pankaj Verma and Sri Lankan Coast Guard Commander Dinesh Jay. Officials noted that without these timely interventions, the fishermen might have remained detained in Sri Lanka for several more months.