Rameswaram fishermen go on strike demanding release of fishers arrested by Sri Lanka

Fishermen in Rameswaram went on a strike on Saturday demanding the release of eight Rameswaram fishers arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities.

Fishermen in Rameswaram went on a strike on Saturday demanding the release of eight Rameswaram fishers arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities.

All the 800 odd fishing vessels were moored at the fishing jetty and fishermen did not collect the fishing tokens.

The Sri Lankan navy on Wednesday night detained 17 fishermen -- eight Rameswaram fishermen and nine fishers from Pudukkottai district -- on charges of poaching in the territorial waters of the island nation. The Sri Lanka navy seized the three fishing boats from them.

The fishermen were produced before a Lankan court in Jaffna and lodged in prison after the court remanded them in judicial custody till September 27.