Sri Lankan Navy arrests seven Indian fishermen from Rameswaram

Seven Indian fishermen from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu were arrested, and their trawler was detained by the Sri Lankan Navy during early hours of Sunday (July 13, 2025) on charges of allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

Police said, 456 trawlers were issued tokens by the Fisheries Department for fishing on Saturday. One of the trawlers owned by V. Isaac Paul of Thangachimadam with seven fishermen on board, was held by the Sri Lankan Navy for crossing the IMBL.

The arrested were B. Ruther (40), P. Edison (48) and M. Jegadeesh (42) of Thangachimadam; A. Shanmugam (56) and F. Dalvin Raj (42) of Rameswaram, M. Sakthivel (43) of Keerathurai in Madurai and Anbalagan.

Police said that the arrested fishermen were taken to the Kankesanthurai port along with their trawler and were later lodged in Jaffna prison.

Boat damage

Another trawler, belonging to Maria Seeron, was damaged by the Sri Lankan Navy’s patrol boat while fishing in the area between Katchatheevu and Neduntheevu. When the patrol boat approached the Indian trawler and the Navy personnel intended to question the fishermen, it dashed on the trawler, Fisheries Department sources said.

Despite the damage sustained to the trawler, the seven Indian fishermen who were on board — Stalin, Muneeswaran, Viyakulam, Columbus, Nagesh, Stephen and Sarathkumar — managed to return safely to Rameswaram jetty.