Kakinada Fishermen Released from Jaffna Jail in Sri Lanka
Rajya Sabha member Sana Satishbabu said on Friday that Indian Coast Guard principal director (operations) of ICG Pankaj Verma took up the matter with the attention of Sri Lankan Coast Guard commander Dinesh Jay.
Kakinada: Four fishermen of Kakinada – K. Srinu Venkateswar, Karri Nookaraj Borriya, Chanda Nageswara Rao and Brahmanandam – have been released after 52 days of detention at the Jaffna Jail in Sri Lanka. The four got repatriated to India on Friday. The fishermen had sailed to Nagapattinam to purchase a second hand fishing trawler.
On their return journey, a navigation malfunction caused them to drift into Sri Lankan waters, leading to their arrest by the Sri Lankan Navy on August 4. Since then, they remained in custody at the Jaffna Jail.
On September 12, the Kayts Civil Court in Jaffna ordered their release along with their boat. The court further directed the Sri Lankan Navy to hand them over safely at the International Maritime Boundary Line. However, procedural delays and lack of coordination stalled their repatriation till Friday evening, when the Indian Coast Guard received them near Mandapam in Rameswaram on Friday evening.
Rajya Sabha member Sana Satishbabu said on Friday that Indian Coast Guard principal director (operations) of ICG Pankaj Verma took up the matter with the attention of Sri Lankan Coast Guard commander Dinesh Jay. Satishbabu said that the fishermen are now on their way home to Kakinada.