NEW DELHI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of fishermen in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu went on indefinite strike to protest arrests by Sri Lankan authorities, officials said Tuesday.
The fishermen went on strike on Monday in Rameswaram, a town on Pamban Island in Ramanathapuram district, about 558 km south of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.
"Over two dozen fishermen hailing from Pudukkottai, Nagapattinam and Rameswaram were arrested by Sri Lankan navy while they were fishing mid-sea last week," an official affiliated with the fishermen association said. "The arrested fishermen have been remanded in custody by the Sri Lankan courts."
Reports said more than 700 boats are anchored on the shores following the strike.
"We are demanding an immediate release of the apprehended fellows, besides an end to the attacks by Sri Lankan navy on us," the official said. "The strike would continue until our demands are met."
Meanwhile, a fisherman who went missing after a boat carrying him capsized allegedly after being hit by a Sri Lankan naval vessel on Saturday night was found dead in the sea.
Reports said the 50-year-old fisherman was fishing with three others near Delft island when their mechanized boat capsized during an operation carried out by the Sri Lankan navy to chase out and arrest Indian fishermen who had allegedly trespassed into their waters.
The Sri Lankan navy rescued three fishermen and got out the body of the dead fisherman on Sunday.
Fishermen of the two countries are often jailed for accidentally crossing into each other's territory. They traverse poorly defined boundary in the international waters as most fishing boats lack technologies to locate their exact positions.
