PTI, Colombo :
Seventy three Indian fishermen have been arrested in Sri Lanka for allegedly poaching into the country’s waters, the Navy said on Sunday, days after it released 33 fishermen from the country.
Navy spokesman Kosala Waranakulasuriya said that 41 Indian fishermen were arrested off the coast of Talaimannar in the north while another 32 fishermen were arrested off the Delft Islands on Saturday.
Fifteen fishing vessels have also been confiscated. The fishermen arrested in Delft were being brought to the Kankesanturai port while others would be handed over to the fisheries inspection office at Talaimannar.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last had ordered the release of Indian fishermen arrested as a goodwill gesture.
Rajapaksa had attended the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26 in Delhi.
Talks between India and Sri Lanka on the fishermen issue had ended in deadlock early last month and negotiators are scheduled to meet again this month.
Sri Lanka had shot down a request from Tamil Nadu fishermen to allow fishing in Lankan waters for 70 days a year and to allow bottom trawling.
