35 Tamil Nadu Fishermen Arrested By British Navy Freed After Over A Month

The fishermen from Tamil Nadu had gone to around 230 nautical miles near BIOT, an archipelago of 58 islands spanning some 640,000 sq km of ocean, to fish in the deep sea.

Around 35 fishermen who were arrested near British Indian Ocean Territory in the Indian Ocean and fined 25,000 pounds sterling were handed over to Indian Coast Guard on Monday, a defence statement said, as reported by PTI. All the arrested fishermen were from Tamil Nadu and the arrest took place more than a month ago. 

The fishermen had gone to around 230 nautical miles near BIOT, an archipelago of 58 islands spanning some 640,000 sq km of ocean, to fish in the deep sea.

According to ANI, Indian Coast Guard officials said, "Indian fishermen who were arrested by the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) administration, were on Monday handed over to the Indian Coast Guard."

"All fishermen are safe and sound healthy and after a thorough joint investigation, medical screening, they have been handed over to local police. All of them were brought by ICGS Anagh and C441," they said.

 

The apprehended fishermen were brought to Vizhinjam on the BIOT patrol vessel Grampien Endurance, along with their own fishing boat. At sea, they were intercepted by Indian Coast Guard ships Anagh and C 441 near Vizhinjam and subsequently brought to Vizhinjam on Monday evening around 7:30 pm.

Meanwhile, TN CM Stalin on Tuesday wrote to Union External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to take necessary steps to repatriate the fisherman Pethalis from Oman. Pethalis from Kanyakumari who was among the 18-member crew from TN working in fishing boats NOOH 1012 and YAYA 1184 in Duqm Harbour in Oman has been taken to an unknown location without information.