24 fishermen arrested by Lankan navy released

The 49 Indian fishermen, arrested by Sri Lankan navy recently, have been released and will return home in a couple of days, Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said in Chennai.

The government said 24 of them had been released on Tuesday from a prison at Anuradahapuram there and another 25 on Wednesday from Jaffna, after state government officials took up the matter with the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka on the directions of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The released fishermen will reach home in a couple of days, an official release said. The chief minister had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not only seeking the release of the arrested fishermen but also to convey strong opposition with Colombo.

The fishermen were arrested on June 5 in two separate incidents while fishing near the Palk Strait.