Chennai: The Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday handed over to their Indian counterparts the mortal remains of a fisherman, who died two days back while resisting arrest near the disputed island of Katchatheevu, and two other fishermen from Rameswaram who were taken into their custody.
59-year-old K Malaichamy, R Muthu Muniyandi (57), M Mookaiah (54), and V Ramachandran (64) were fishing in Neduntheevu (Deft Island) in the early hours of August 1 when the boat in which they were sailing was chased by a patrol vessel of the Sri Lankan Navy. In the melee, the boat capsized following which three were rescued from the sea and admitted to Punkuduthivu Hospital in Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka.
While Malaichamy died, Ramachandran continues to be missing and the remaining two escaped with minor injuries. India took strong objection to the incident and summoned the Acting High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in New Delhi to lodge a “strong protest.”
After negotiations that went on for two days, the Sri Lankan Navy handed over Muthu Muniyandi and Mookaiah and the mortal remains of the Malaichamy to Indian Navy near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) at the wee hours of around 1 am today.
“Indian Navy ship, INS Bitra, which was on deployment off Rameshwaram coordinated with Sri Lankan Navy ship and received the fishermen and the dead body at sea,” a statement from the Indian Navy said.
The Indian Navy ship then proceeded to Rameswaram, where Navy Officer from Naval Detachment coordinated with Marine Police and Fisheries Department of Tamil Nadu government, in transferring the mortal remains and the fishermen, at around 3 am.
The development comes amid a call by Rameswaram fishermen to boycott work till the Sri Lankan Navy hands over the body of Malaichamy and release two other fishermen in their custody.
The arrest of Indian fishermen from Pudukkottai, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, and Ramanathapuram districts by the Sri Lankan Navy has been a recurring affair in the Palk Strait for the past few decades. The boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy are nationalised, snatching livelihood from Indian fishermen.
The fishermen cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and step into Sri Lankan waters as the fish catch is abundant on the other side, often landing in trouble as the island’s Navy personnel encircle them in mid-seas, especially when they cross Katchatheevu, an uninhabited island ceded by New Delhi to Colombo in 1974.
The fishermen’s Tamil counterparts in Sri Lanka’s northern region say the bottom trawlers used by Indian fishermen scrap the seabed, bringing ecological destruction.