Indian authorities on high alert as refugee boat spotted

The State Police along with Coast Guard and the Marine Enforcement wing of the Department of Fisheries set out a search for a boat, after getting a tip-off that Sri Lankan refugees were spotted on board.

The information was received by the Kollam Special Branch and it was passed on to Kochi Police as the boat was then reported to be off the Kochi coast. “Even though a search was set out immediately, we could spot only a fishing boat in the coordinates given in the information. This boat had four Tamil-speaking fishermen, who belong to Pozhiyoor one of the border towns in Thiruvananthapuram. The search is still on,” said K. Padmakumar, Inspector General of Police, Kochi Range.

The search was made as the State Police had successfully intercepted agents involved in transporting Sri Lankan refugees, after promising to take them over to Australia. (TheHindu)