The five Tamil Nadu fishermen who were sentenced to death by the Colombo Court on charges of drug trafficking to Sri lanka will soon be handed over to Indian authorities, according to Subramanian Swamy, senior leader of the BJP.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic discussion with President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri lanka and both the leaders discussed the issue of the death sentence awarded to the five fishermen from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. It has been agreed by the Sri lankan President to release the five fishermen to Indian authorities for transferring them to jails in India,” Swamy told The Pioneer.
The senior BJP leader had written to both Prime Minister Modi and President Rajapaksa that reminding them about the Treaty on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners signed between India and Sri lanka. This treaty was signed on June 9, 2010 by the two countries. “Invoking this treaty, India can obtain the transfer of the five convicts to an Indian prison such as Tihar and enable them to continue the legal remedies in Indian courts. Earlier, Sri lanka had got the transfer of a Tamil Sri lankan citizen sentenced to death for drug peddling in Tamil Nadu,” Swamy had said in the letters.
Swamy said he was going to Sri lanka on Noveber 24 to deliver the lalith Athulathmudali Memorial lecture. “I may myself see off the five fishermen at Colombo and call on President Rajapaksa to express India’s gratitude,” said the BJP leader.
A Bench of the Colombo High Court on late October had sentenced R Wilson, P Emerson, P Augustus, K Prasath, J lanklet, (all from Rameshawaram in Tamil Nadu) and Mutturash Kashal, Christian Wilson Kirathrasa and Ghanaprakasan Dhusanthen (all from Sri lanka) to death on charges of drug trafficking. The prosecution case was that the eight were arrested by Sri lankan Navy from the shores of Wayamba near Jaffna on November 28, 2011 with a consignment of 954.4 grams heroin. According to the Sri lankan Police, the Indians brought the contraband in a fishing vessel while the Sinhala youths helped them to transport it to the land.
Tamil Nadu saw a series of agitations following the death sentence awarded to the five fishermen. Vaiko, the MDMK leader and an ally of the BJP had lambasted Prime Minister Modi for the death sentence awarded to the fishermen while TNCC president EVKS Elangovan went one step further and asked the Prime Minister to depose President Rajapaksa.