Lanka foisted drug-running case against fishermen: Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: A day after a Sri Lankan court sentenced to death five Indian fishermen for allegedly transporting narcotics, DMK chief M Karunanidhi said the case was foisted on the men and demanded that the Centre take up the matter with Colombo to ensure their release. The DMK chief recalled that after the five fishermen were arrested in 2011 on charges of drug trafficking, the Tamil Nadu Q branch police and intelligence department had submitted reports that the case was “foisted” on the five.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan said the Narendra Modi government would take all steps to ensure the release of the five fishermen. While Karunanidhi’s daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi wrote to Union minister Sushma Swaraj on the issue, BJP ally MDMK chief Vaiko condemned Prime Minister Modi for giving so much 'freedom' to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha. “That’s why the Sri Lankan court penalized the fishermen. The Sri Lankan judicial system is just a toy in the hands of Rajapaksa,” Vaiko alleged.
In Trichy and Kumbakkonam, there was tension for a while on Friday morning as pro-Eelam supporters set fire to effigies of Rajapakse. Police personnel were posted in front of the Sri Lankan airlines’ office and a furniture shop in Trichy that sources goods from the island nation. The two establishments had been vandalized in an earlier incident.
Sri Lankan minister V Radhakrishnan who underwent a surgery in a private hospital in Trichy, advanced his return to Colombo by a day. He is expected to take a flight back on Friday evening.