Two country boats with 12 fishermen from Kanniyakumari district were detained by the fishermen of Idinthakarai on Tuesday for non-payment of loan taken by one of them.

According to relatives of the detained fishermen, fisherman Selvam, 40, of Kanniyakumari had reportedly borrowed ₹ 1 lakh from Titus of Idinthakarai. When he failed to repay the loan within the deadline, Mr. Titus filed a complaint with the Kanniyakumari Roman Catholic Church Parish Council seeking its intervention.

Against this backdrop, Mr. Selvam and 11 others, who were fishing off Idinthakarai coast in the early hours of Tuesday in two boats, were intercepted by a group of fishermen from Idinthakarai, who forcibly took them to their hamlet for non-repayment of the loan. On getting information about the abduction, the Kanniyakumari fishermen filed a complaint with the Coastal Security Group police seeking safe release of detained fishermen.

In protest against the detention, Kanniyakumari district fishermen from 44 coastal hamlets abstained from fishing on Tuesday. Peace talks are on to ensure safe release of the fishermen.