Dozens from India intercepted in Sri Lankan waters

Illegal immigrants, says Sri Lankan Navy while Indian mission says they are fishermen

As many as 86 persons from India, travelling on 11 boats, were on Tuesday caught in Sri Lankan waters as they tried to enter the island nation, possibly fleeing the raging pandemic, the Sri Lankan Navy said. “They were intercepted mid-sea and held there by the Navy. We immediately informed the Indian High Commission asking them to make arrangements for the Indian Coast Guard or Navy to take them back,” Navy spokesman Captain Indika De Silva told The Hindu. When contacted, an official at the Indian High Commission here said there were “a few boats with Indian fishermen near IMBL which were stopped by Sri Lankan Navy when they inadvertently drifted towards Sri Lanka”.