The Sri Lankan navy allegedly damaged fishing nets of several Indian fishermen in mid-sea and two of them returned ashore on Saturday.After a 14-day boycott, 687 mechanised boats had ventured into the sea for fishing on Saturday. But the Lankan navy surrounded some of the boats and cut off the fishing nets of 18 boats in the high seas. They reportedly warned the Indian fishermen not to enter Lankan waters again.N J Bose, General Secretary of the TN Coastal Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, said the fishermen could not lead a peaceful life due to the mid-sea attacks. They returned ashore with a poor catch, he added.

Lankan national held under Passport Act

Dhanushkodi police on Sunday arrested a Sri Lankan national, identified as Anusan alias Anoj of Thalaimannar, under the Passport Act for not possessing valid documents to enter the country. Police said Anusan sneaked into Dhanushkodi on Saturday in a fibreglass boat.However, he was forced to alight in neck deep water near Arichalmunai from where he managed to reach the shore.He was subsequently detained by Q Branch police who conducted an inquiry with him.They said that Anusan was a smuggler and he had smuggled perfumes and other goods to Taiwan and some other countries.He was then handed over to the Dhanushkodi police who registered a case under the Passport Act.Anusan was later produced before a court which remanded him to judicial custody.