24 more Indian fishermen apprehended in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka police have taken 24 Indian fishermen in custody, a day after arresting 112 fishermen belonging to the neighbouring country.

The fishermen were apprehended along with their seven boats and handed over to the Ilawalai police in northern Jaffna peninsular yesterday by a group of local fishermen.

On Tuesday, a group of local fishermen had apprehended 112 Indian fishermen allegedly straying into Sri Lankan waters, triggering protests in Tamil Nadu, where the fishermen believed to be coming from.

All the 112 fishermen were produced before a Point Pedro Magistrate court in Jaffna yesterday and remanded to judicial custody until February 28.

India last month accused the Sri Lankan Navy of killing at least two Indian fishermen.

The incident triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity between the two south Asian neighbours following which Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao visited Colombo to seek assurances to prevent such incidents in future.