Chennai: Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President K Annamalai has written letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar requesting the ministry's intervention for the repatriation of 16 fishermen who have been arrested by the Sri Lankan navy.

In the letter, K Annamalai called for intervention of External Affairs Ministry for the early repatriation of the detainees. He noted that two fishing boats belonging to the fishermen have also been seized. K Annamalai's call for MEA's intervention comes after two Indian fishing boats along with 16 fishermen were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday.

In the letter, Annamalai stated, "We bring to your attention yesterday's arrest of 16 Fishermen from Pudhukottai and Nagapattinam by the Sri Lankan navy. Two fishing boats belonging to them have also been seized during the arrest. We request the kind intervention of our External affairs ministry for the early repatriation of the detainees."

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai expressed gratitude to EAM S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the constructive steps to bolster the ties between India and Sri Lanka, which he stressed has resulted in improved security of fishermen in the High seas.

"On behalf of BJP Tamil Nadu and the Tamil Fishermen, we wholeheartedly thank our External Affairs Ministry and Honourable Prime Minister Thiru Narendra Modi avargal for the constructive steps to improve the bilateral relations between India & Sri Lanka, which has resulted in improved safety of our fishermen in the High seas," K Annamalai wrote in the letter.

On Saturday, two Indian fishing boats along with 16 Kottaipattinam and Nagapattinam based fishermen were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy near Analaitheevu. 172 boats went to catch fish in the sea on March 11 at 07:00 from Kottapattinam boat harbor under the boundary of Meemisal Beach Police Station, Pudukkottai District, Mamelkudi Division.

The fishermen identified as Aarokyaraj, Ashok and two others were fishing near Analaithivu at a distance of 30 nautical miles. They were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for transboundary fishing and brought to Barudhitura Naval Camp, according to the information released by fishermen association.

Meanwhile, 12 fishermen from Akkaraipettai fishing port went fishing in the morning on March 7 were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing early morning today and taken to Karainagar port. According to the fishermen association, the fishermen have been identified as Anandaman, Raja, Ravi, Mathibalan, Kathalingam, Ramamurthy, Raghu, Anbu, Dinesh, Chitraver, Ravi and Velmail.

Earlier in February, Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka strongly raised the issue of recent attacks on Indian fishermen with Sri Lankan authorities. Indian High Commission has called on the Sri Lankan government to investigate the matter and ensure that use of force and violence in any form is not used against the fishermen.

Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted, "High Commission has strongly taken up the recent attacks on #Indian fishermen with #SriLankan authorities. It has also asked the Goverment of #SriLanka to investigate the matter and ensure that use of force and violence in any form are not resorted to against the fishermen."

In another tweet, Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted, "The issues of fishermen are humanitarian and pertain to their livelihoods. These must be addressed in that spirit through diplomatic means and bilateral mechanisms." Six fishermen belonging to Tamil Nadu were allegedly attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy.