Four fishermen from Andhra Pradesh, India who were released after 52 days of detention at a Jaffna Prison, will return home on September 30, Indian media reports suggest.

The boat carrying the fishermen sailed from the Sri Lankan shore for Kakinada on September 27.

The four fishermen were handed over to Indian authorities on Friday.

They were deported following efforts by the state government officials in Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi.

The Sri Lankan Coast Guard handed over the fishermen to the Indian Coast Guard at the Mandapam Camp on September 26, and from there they left for Kakinada.

The fishermen had sailed to Nagapattinam to purchase a second-hand fishing trawler, but while returning home, they drifted in Sri Lankan waters due to a GPS error, according to the report.

The Sri Lankan Navy arrested the fishermen on August 4, and since then, they have been held in prison.

A court in Jaffna on September 12 had ordered the release of Andhra fishermen. As per the court order, the fishermen were handed over at the International Maritime Boundary Line.

The Indian High Commission in Colombo initiated efforts for their return after AP Bhavan took up the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs.

The High Commission also posted that it secured safe repatriation of four fishermen in close cooperation with the government of Sri Lanka and with the support of the Indian and Sri Lankan Navies and Coast Guards.

- Agencies