A total of 97 Indian fishermen are currently in the custody of Sri Lanka, of which 83 are serving sentences, three awaiting trial and 11 were apprehended on Thursday, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Indian parliament (Rajya Sabha).Replying to supplementaries during question hour, Jaishankar said India is trying to engage with Sri Lanka to take a humanitarian approach to the issue, even as the central government is finding long-term ways, including installing transponders on fishing boats, to ensure that such a situation does not recur.Jaishankar said the decisions which were taken in 1974 and 1976 are today the root cause of the situation the country is facing.Right now the situation is that till yesterday there were 86 Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody.
Today, one more trawler has been apprehended and so 11 more fishermen.
All together, 97 of them are in custody.
Eighty three are serving sentences, three are awaiting trial and 11 have been apprehended today, he informed the Upper House.He said among those who are today serving sentences, many of them are owners of boats or they are repeat offenders and that has been the challenge in dealing with the issue.
Jaishankar said that in a way our government has inherited a problem.Source: PTI--Agencies