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Wednesday, December 05, 2012 (18:36:14) | Head lines India
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Chennai, Dec 5: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.
Jayalalithaa today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to tell Sri Lanka to
immediately release the 40 Indian fishermen from jails there.
In an open letter to Manmohan Singh, she said 22 of
the fishermen were from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and 18 from Karaikal in
Puducherry. They were reportedly caught by the Sri Lanka Navy Dec 3.
"The fishing boats and fishermen were
reportedly taken to the Trincomalee harbour and it is learnt they have now
been remanded till Dec 10. The Indian Navy has confirmed the arrests,"
she said.
Expressing her "deep pain" over such
incidents, Jayalalithaa said that when Sri Lankan fishermen entered Indian
waters, they were only warned and sent back.
She said the Sri Lankan authorities should
reciprocate the gesture and release the detained Tamil Nadu fishermen.
"The action of the Sri Lankan Navy in detaining
our fishermen will only escalate the tensions between the two
countries," Jayalalithaa added. (IANS)
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