Ordeal over, Qatar frees 32 Indian fishermen

NAGERCOIL: Due to the speedy efforts taken by the Indian Embassy at Qatar, the 32 fishermen from Kanyakumari and Ramanathapuram districts arrested by the Qatar Coast Guard have been released, said Fr Churchill, the general secretary of South Asian Fishermen Fraternity Forum (SAFFF) here on Wednesday.It may be recalled that 28 fishermen from Kanyakumari district and four fishermen from Ramanathapuram on June 2, embarked into the sea in eight mechanised boats from Bahrain coast and on June 3, they were detained by the Qatar Coast Guard for trespassing into Qatar waters. They were lodged at Alko jail at Qatar.Meanwhile, citing the release order sent to him by the Indian embassy, Fr Churchill said that the fishermen were released without any fine or penalty on June 6. Usually, the arrested fishermen will be produced in court for legal action, but this time because of the immediate intervention of Indian embassy, the fishermen were released, he added. He further said that after completing the formalities, they would return to Bahrain within 2 or 3 days.