66 Tamil Nadu fishermen return home from Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan court set 66 Tamil Nadu fisherman free after being arrested recently by the island navy. They arrived  in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) repatriating them.

The fishermen—35 from Rameswaram, 20 from Nagapattinam and 11 from Karaikal—were handed over to the coast guard by the Sri Lankan Navy at the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

The fishermen, who had been arrested in batches since July and remanded to judicial custody in Sri Lanka, were brought here onboard the coast guard ship IGCS Rajtarang.
They were then subjected to a joint interrogation onboard the ship by the police, Intelligence Bureau, Costal Security Group, Customs and Coast Guard personnel, a release from the ICG said.

Mandapam ICG station Commander H H More advised the fishermen not to cross the IMBL for the sake of their own safety.

The fishermen alleged they were attacked with hose pipes by Sri Lankan naval personnel and that they did not provided them with proper food during their confinement.
However, the Sri Lankan civilian officials were courteous and gentle, they said.