SL court verdict: Pro-Tamil groups protest in Chennai

A day after Sri Lankan government awarded capital punishment to five Tamil Nadu fishermen for drug trafficking, pro-Tamil groups on Friday (Oct 31) protested in Chennai. Even DMK Chief M Karunanidhi urged the Centre to take up the matter with Colombo to the pave way for their release. Karunanidhi said India had already made it clear that New Delhi does not consider them guilty and therefore it would take all legal and diplomatic steps for their release. The five fishermen, all hailing from Tamil Nadu, were apprehended in 2011 by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of smuggling of drugs in the seas off northern Jaffna's Delft islet.