The fishermen released by Sri Lanka
Five fishermen spared the death sentence in Sri Lanka and freed on Wednesday reached their village in Tamil Nadu's Rameshwaram today to grand celebrations.
Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath and J Langlet were welcomed back by dancing and singing villagers who said they would celebrate all day. They were taken in a procession through the village.
The fishermen, who hadn't seen their families in three years, returned home two days after they were released in Colombo. They were first flown to Delhi and then Chennai as a political battle for credit swirled around them.
Their families returned disappointed from the airport in Tiruchirapalli on Thursday morning after learning that the men were taken to Delhi first, apparently for debriefing.
As they arrived in Chennai last night, two groups jostled for attention. Workers of the BJP were seen holding up posters and banners of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other party leaders. The rival group comprised members of the state's ruling AIADMK.
A large contingent of the Chennai police at the airport did not allow the fishermen to speak to the media.
The AIADMK has accused the BJP of trying to grab credit for the fishermen's freedom to make inroads into Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2016 polls; the party won a single seat in the May national election.
Asked whether the fishermen's release was a diplomatic victory that could boost the BJP's prospects in Tamil Nadu, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan said, "It is not the BJP's victory, it is a victory of our government, our Prime Minister. We don't look at any politics on this."
The five men were sentenced to death last month by a court in Colombo after being held guilty of smuggling drugs into the country. They were arrested in 2011.
Their sentence was commuted by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday.
The Indian government challenged the conviction in Sri Lanka's Supreme Court and over the weekend, PM Modi spoke to President Rajapaksa on the phone.
The death sentence had led to large protests in Tamil Nadu, which says its fishermen are unfairly targeted and arrested by the Lankan navy.