Nearly 4,000 pilgrims set sail for Katchatheevu islet to participate in annual two-day festival
Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): Nearly 4,000 Indian pilgrims on Friday set sail for the uninhabited Katchatheevu islet to participate in the annual two-day festival, which will officially commence at 4 pm at the St Antony’s Church, officials said.
The festival marks a significant moment of shared cultural and religious heritage between India and Sri Lanka.
The first batch of devotees was flagged off from the Rameswaram fishing harbour at approximately 6 am by Ramanathapuram District Collector Simranjeet Singh Kahlon.
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According to official records, a total of 3,996 registered pilgrims -- comprising 3,033 men, 726 women, and 150 children -- are crossing the Palk Strait in a fleet of 118 boats, which includes 92 mechanised trawlers and 26 country boats.
The festival will officially commence with a traditional flag-hoisting ceremony. This will be followed by the 'Way of the Cross' procession and a late-night chariot festival, where the statue of the patron saint will be carried around the shrine by Sri Lankan Navy personnel, sources said.
Strict security measures are in place, with the Indian Coast Guard and Customs department conducting a three-tier verification process at the Rameswaram jetty. All pilgrims were required to produce their Aadhaar cards and a mandatory Police No Objection Certificate (NOC).
Authorities have strictly prohibited the carriage of plastic items, alcohol, and excessive jewellery.
According to official sources, all vessels are equipped with adequate life jackets and are being escorted by Coast Guard hovercrafts up to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
The festivities will reach their peak on Saturday morning with a Special High Mass conducted by the Bishops of Jaffna and Colombo in both Tamil and Sinhala. The event will conclude with the lowering of the flag, after which the Indian pilgrims will begin their return journey.
To facilitate the event, the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department has enforced a total fishing ban in the region until March 1, leaving over 1,000 local boats moored at the docks to ensure clear passage for the pilgrim fleet.
The islet was ceded to Sri Lanka by India by ways of two agreements in 1970s.
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Malaysian Indian sentenced to jail and caning for raping Indonesian woman in Singapore
Singapore (PTI): An Indian-origin Malaysian man was sentenced in Singapore to 12 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for raping a domestic worker outside a train station after tricking her into thinking that he was a police officer.
Sharveen Chetty, 48, pleaded guilty on February 4 to one charge of raping the 35-year-old Indonesian woman in the bushes outside Exit F of a subway, Little India Mass Rapid Transit station, at about 8pm on July 11, 2022.
The victim was with her friends at the time, but Chetty lured her away before he sexually assaulted her, according to a report by The Straits Times on Thursday.
Two other charges – a second rape charge and a charge of impersonating a police officer – were taken into consideration during sentencing on Wednesday.
The witnesses who testified on the first day of the trial included a doctor from Women’s and Children’s Hospital who examined the victim a day after the rapes, and forensic scientists from the Health Sciences Authority.
Chetty had initially contested the charges in a High Court trial that began on February 3. But he changed his mind and pleaded guilty on what would have been the second day of the trial, according to the daily report.
In sentencing, Justice Dedar Singh Gill considered it aggravating that Chetty had targeted the victim because she was a foreigner who might be unfamiliar with the local authorities.
The judge rejected the defence's arguments that the rape was not premeditated.
The judge, however, noted that Chetty had pleaded guilty before the victim and key prosecution witnesses testified, thus sparing her and her friends from going through cross-examination.
The prosecution had sought a sentence of between 11 and 13 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane, noting Chetty’s extensive efforts to disguise himself, and his predatory act of leading the victim away from the rest of the group.
Chetty admitted that he became sexually attracted to the victim.
