23 fishermen from TN & Kerala set free, arrive home

Twenty-three fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, who were arrested by Naval authorities at Diego Garcia on May 11 for illegally fishing in their territorial waters, have been released, a fisheries department official said today.

Assistant Director of Fisheries J Nabiraj said they were released on May 23 and arrived at nearby Muttom yesterday in their two boats, which were also freed.

However, their fishing material, wireless instruments and GPS were not released, he said.

Nabiraj said the central and state government had intervened to secure their release.

Twenty-one of the fishermen are from Kanyakumari district and two from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.