Sri Lankan Navy arrests 14 Indian fishermen

As many as 14 fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy late on Monday (July 28, 2025) night.  

A total of 391 mechanised boats had ventured into the sea for fishing on Monday. A mechanised boat, along with five fishermen, were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy near the Mannar region, said Fisheries department officials.   

The arrested fishermen were identified as: J. Justin (boat owner), 51, and J. Mobin, 24, of Thangachimadam; S. Denison, 39, and S. Sekar, 55, of Pamban; and T. Saimon, 55, of Rameswaram.

In another incident, a motorised country boat with nine fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). 

As they entered the sea on Monday, the nine fishermen – K. Raja, 44, of Thangachimadam, G. Anandam, 49, of Rameswaram, W. Murugesan, 51, of Thoothukudi, Tikeshan, 24, of Pamban, R. Murugadas, 41, of Rameswaram, M. Ariyappan, 38, of Mandapam, R. Sannimel, 27, of Rameswaram – were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy.  

V.K. Gnanaseelan Mechanised Boat Fishermen Welfare Association, affiliated with the AITUC, said its members staged a protest at Thangachimadam, demanding the Union government’s intervention into the immediate release of the arrested fishermen.

Karl Marx, of the fishermen association, said the frequent arrests of Indian fishermen were condemnable, and sought a permanent solution to the issue.

Jesu Raja, another fishermen leader, said, after the fishing ban period ended last month, one country boat and five mechanised boats were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy.  

While more than 20 Indian fishermen were convicted and lodged in prison, after the ban period, another 40 fishermen were detained in Sri Lankan prisons as undertrials.  

Even when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka and held diplomatic talks with their government to put an end to the arrests, the capture of Indian fishermen and boats continues, he said, adding: “We need a permanent solution to save our lives; swift action to bring back our arrested fishermen should also be taken by the Union government,” he added.