Fishermen in southern parts of Tamil Nadu, except those in Rameswaram, have withdrawn their strike after the Central Government took steps to file appeal for five Indian fishermen who were sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court for smuggling narcotics.

After the Colombo high court sentenced five Thangachimadam fishermen to death, the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu turned restless with numerous protests.

Fishermen in Tuticorin, Kanyakumari, Ramanathapuram Nagapattinam and Pudukottai districts and those in Karaikal in the Union territory of Puducherry were also participating in the strike which resulted in steep increase in fish prices.

After the Tamil Nadu government sanctioned 2 million India rupees for court proceedings in Sri Lanka, fishermen in Nagapattinam and the central districts ventured into the sea on Sunday. Tuticorin fishermen ended their strike on Saturday.

Kanyakumari fishermen withdrew their strike on Monday and ventured into the sea.

“As the state and Central governments are keen to help our fishermen, we have decided to withdraw the strike as a good will measure,” stated V Sudhan, a fishermen community leader in Kanyakumari.

Meanwhile, Rameswaram fishermen were anxiously awaiting for the results of the court proceedings in Sri Lanka.

The Madras High Court Advocates Association and other lawyers forums have announced court boycott on Monday, protesting against the death sentence imposed on five Indian fishermen by a court in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy said on Monday that he has been invited to visit Sri Lanka on November 24 and hopes to bring the five death row Tamil fishermen back to India.

“I have been invited to Sri Lanka on the 24th of this month; I hope to bring back the fishermen,” Swamy told ANI.

He also revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a telephonic conversation regarding the hanging of the Tamil fishermen.

“I got information this morning from a reliable source in Sri Lanka that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (President) Rajapaksa had a telephonic conversation regarding the hanging of the five Tamil fishermen. Prime Minister Modi made it clear that India has great respect for the democratic process and the legal system of Sri Lanka, but it had some implications for us in India, and therefore, he (PM Modi) was raising it,” said Swamy.

“Rajapaksa said that there is an agreement between India and Sri Lanka and it is called transfer of sentenced persons. It was signed in 2010 and by this treaty the five convicted Tamil Fishermen can be transferred to an Indian jail and there a further appeal can be a process where a higher court can look at whether the evidence in lower court was accurately given or not. I think this is the best way to solve the problem and this is the solution,” Swamy added.

The Colombo High Court had on October 30 sentenced five Indian fishermen - P Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath, and J Lanklet - along with three Sri Lankans to death on charges of smuggling 995 grams of heroin. They were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for heroin trafficking in 2011.

The Indian fishermen claim that they have been falsely implicated in the case on ‘fabricated evidence’.

With input from TOI/ANI