According to an official release here, five fishermen from Rameswaram, Emerson, Augustus, Wilson, Prasad and Lanklet, were detained by Sri Lankan Navy on 28 November 2011 when they were fishing in Lankan waters. They were charged with smuggling drugs and cases were filed against them at Mallakkam court in the island nation.

When it was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that they were framed under false charges, she sanctioned Rs two lakh to appoint an advocate and also to meet other legal expenses, through Alliance for Release of Innocent Fishermen Trust.

Thanks to the financial aid from Tamilnadu government, a petition was filed in the Lankan court to release the fishermen. But the court refused to give bail to the fishermen.

Since the respective families of the five fishermen were suffering without income following the detention of the breadwinners, Jayalalithaa ordered to provide Rs 7500 per month to each family.

Apart from this, Jayalalithaa on Thursday gave Rs two lakh each to the family members of the fishermen, as relief. The fishermen's family members expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister for coming to their aid. State Fisheries Minister, Chief Secretary and other higher officials were present when Jayalalithaa handed over the relief to the ailing families.