<p>The Indian fishermen along with their boats were released by Sri Lankan authorities after a court order.<br /><br />They will be escorted to Indian maritime border by the Sri Lankan Navy, a defence official said.<br /><br />"Sri Lankan Navy will hand over the fishermen and their boats to Indian coast guard later today," Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Commander Kosala Warankulasuriya told PTI<br />The move followed a high-level meeting between the Sri Lankan defence official and Indian diplomats in Colombo.<br /><br />Out of the 136 Indian fishermen, 112 were caught last Tuesday by a group of local fishermen and handed over to the police there.<br /><br />Reacting to the incident, India yesterday conveyed its "deep concern" over the detention of fishermen and asked the Sri Lankan government to take "necessary" steps to get them released.<br /><br />"I have just had a telephonic conversation with the Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka (G L Peiris) and I have conveyed India's deep concern at the detention of nearly 136 fishermen in Jaffna district," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had said in New Delhi.<br /><br />"I have also conveyed my deep regret that Sri Lankan nationals and Sri Lankan fishermen have taken law into their own hands and confronted our fishermen," Krishna said.<br /><br />The arrests had triggered protests in Tamil Nadu where over 5,000 DMK workers, including party MPs Kanimozhi and T K S Elangovan, had been arrested when they tried to take out a rally to the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission.<br /><br />India had last month accused the Sri Lankan Navy of killing at least two Indian fishermen.<br />This had triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity between the two south Asian neighbours following which Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao visited Colombo to seek assurances to prevent such incidents in future.</p>
<p>The Indian fishermen along with their boats were released by Sri Lankan authorities after a court order.<br /><br />They will be escorted to Indian maritime border by the Sri Lankan Navy, a defence official said.<br /><br />"Sri Lankan Navy will hand over the fishermen and their boats to Indian coast guard later today," Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Commander Kosala Warankulasuriya told PTI<br />The move followed a high-level meeting between the Sri Lankan defence official and Indian diplomats in Colombo.<br /><br />Out of the 136 Indian fishermen, 112 were caught last Tuesday by a group of local fishermen and handed over to the police there.<br /><br />Reacting to the incident, India yesterday conveyed its "deep concern" over the detention of fishermen and asked the Sri Lankan government to take "necessary" steps to get them released.<br /><br />"I have just had a telephonic conversation with the Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka (G L Peiris) and I have conveyed India's deep concern at the detention of nearly 136 fishermen in Jaffna district," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had said in New Delhi.<br /><br />"I have also conveyed my deep regret that Sri Lankan nationals and Sri Lankan fishermen have taken law into their own hands and confronted our fishermen," Krishna said.<br /><br />The arrests had triggered protests in Tamil Nadu where over 5,000 DMK workers, including party MPs Kanimozhi and T K S Elangovan, had been arrested when they tried to take out a rally to the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission.<br /><br />India had last month accused the Sri Lankan Navy of killing at least two Indian fishermen.<br />This had triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity between the two south Asian neighbours following which Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao visited Colombo to seek assurances to prevent such incidents in future.</p>