5 Sri Lankan refugees arrested for trying to flee Tamil Nadu

Ramanathapuram: Customs Assistant Commissioner V Rajkumar Moses and his team, on Sunday, detained a family of five and two others for clandestinely moving to Sri Lanka from Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram. The five refugees, Ganesh (60) his wife, two daughters and 10-year-old grandson have been detained along with Anand (39), a resident who arranged for their transportation, and Loganathan, an autorickshaw driver who was waiting to pick them up on Sunday night.

Anand, who collected Rs 1.25 lakh from the family, took them to Rettaithalai seashore in Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu, after arranging a boat from Sri Lanka. While the boat was scheduled to arrive at the shore by 11pm, it was delayed due to a technical snag.

According to the police report, Anand had arranged the trip along with his friend Loganathan. The family was staying in a refugee camp in Madurai, and they reached Ramanathapuram on Saturday. They were with Anand before heading to the shore on Sunday night.

Further reports revealed that the family, who were from Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka, had come to Tamil Nadu 16 years ago, and were staying in the camp. Ganesh decided to return to his native with his wife and two married daughters after their husbands deserted them. His son is living in Sri Lanka.