Overview
- The group from Rameswaram and Mandapam was picked up in two interceptions—18 near Katchatheevu and four near Neduntheevu—after alleged IMBL violations.
- All detainees and their vessels were escorted to Sri Lankan naval ports for questioning, with cases referred to fisheries and police authorities.
- A Kayts magistrate remanded 12 of the arrested fishermen until March 4, according to local reports.
- Fishermen’s associations and families in Tamil Nadu urged state and central governments to secure the men’s release and recover the impounded boats.
- The detentions continue a pattern of frequent arrests in the Palk Strait that is weighing on livelihoods ahead of this month’s St. Antony’s Church festival at Katchatheevu.