RAMESWARAM: At a time when Lankan Tamils have been illegally reaching Indian shores to escape from the unprecedented economic crisis in the island nation, the Q-Branch police on Wednesday arrested a Sri Lankan man for allegedly planning to illegally migrate back to his homeland. A Rameswaram fisherman, who had allegedly taken money from the suspect and agreed to ferry him, has also been arrested.
According to sources, Q-Branch personnel, who were patrolling near the Rameswaram Railway Station, detained Keerthanan (28) of Vavuniya region in Sri Lanka. He came to Chennai on January 16, 2020, from Sri Lanka and before long his visa expired. "With his attempts to renew the visa going in vain, Keerthanan decided to leave for London using a fake passport. But that also didn't happen and finally, he decided to flee to Sri Lanka by boat," the sources said.
Further probe revealed that Muthukumaran (49), a fisherman from Rameswaram, had allegedly taken money from Keerthanan and agreed to ferry him from Dhanushkodi. Police arrested the duo and handed them over to Rameswaram Nagar police, who booked them under section 12(I)(a) of the Passport Act and sections 14, 14(C) of the Foreigners Act, 1946. The sleuths also seized Rs 10,000 from Keerthanan. The suspects were produced before the Rameswaram Court and remanded in custody on Thursday.