CHENNAI: Fourteen Sri Lankan nationals, including two of them permanently settled in Germany and the UK, lost their passports on the Marina Beach on Tuesday night. The group, along with police, swept through the entire beach, not sparing even garbage bins, till the wee hours of Wednesday, searching for the backpack in which they had kept their passports, but to no avail.
Police said the group led by Kanthaiya Gajendran and Kavidoss Kanthaiya, both Lankan Tamils settled in Germany and the UK, along with 12 Lankan nationals, came to India on a proper tourist visa on December 3 from Colombo, to attend the wedding of a relative who had settled down in Valasaravakkam here.
They had planned to stay here till December 28 and had been touring the State. On Tuesday, the family set out on a trip to Mahabalipuram in the morning and returned to the city by evening. They then visited the Marina Beach, where they spent some time till 8.15 pm, before leaving the spot.
The group then left for their place of stay and realised that the backpack, which apart from the passports also had a high-end mobile and Rs 30,000, was missing from their luggage. They returned to the beach around 8.45 pm, but could not find the bag anywhere.
Subsequently, they lodged a complaint at the Anna Square Police Station.