By

Meera Srinivasan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday discussed possible options regarding the five Indian fishermen who were recently sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan Court.

Sources in the Sri Lankan President’s office confirmed that Mr. Rajapaksa telephoned Mr. Modi and the two leaders discussed a range of issues including the fishermen’s sentence.

While local media reports here on Monday said the fishermen may be transferred to an Indian prison, official sources in the President’s office told The Hindu that a final decision was yet to be taken.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Rajapaksa are likely to meet this month in Nepal on the sidelines of the SAARC summit where the matter is likely to be taken up again.

The Colombo High Court sentenced to death five fishermen — Emerson, P. Augustus, R. Wilson, K. Prasath and J. Langlet — on October 30 on charges of smuggling heroin. They were arrested in 2011.

The Indian government has engaged a senior counsel in Colombo to appear for the fishermen. New Delhi has maintained that the fishermen are innocent and sources there said they were in possession of GPS data that could potentially serve as crucial evidence.

Courtesy:The Hindu