Coast Guard nabs Sri Lankan Tamil refugees

RAMANATHAPURAM: The Coast Guard on Sunday apprehended six Sri Lankan Tamil refugees at Fourth Islet near the International Maritime Boundary Line when they were waiting for a Sri Lankan boat to return to their home country illegally.

They were identified as P. Dharmar, S. Ilanchezhian, N. Veera Vijayan, Shanta Kumar and C. Anjenya. While four of them were from the Bhavani Sagar refugee camp in Erode district, the other two were from the Tiruchi and Karur refugee camps.

On information that a group of youngsters was spotted in an unmanned islet, a hovercraft of Coast Guard rushed there and surrounded them.

They reportedly told the Coast Guard personnel onboard that an Indian boat dropped them at the islet after transporting them from Rameswaram. They also claimed that the crew members told them that a boat from Sri Lankawould take them.

After a preliminary enquiry, they were brought to the Coast Guard station at Mandapam. Commandant D.S. Saini, Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Station, Mandapam told The Hindu that interrogation had revealed that a boat operator based at Rameswaram had received a hefty sum from the refugees for ferrying them to Sri Lanka. Since the vigil along IMBL was intensified, the boat crew members could not complete the mission and dropped them at an islet by making a false promise that a Sri Lankan boat would transport them further.

Veera Vijayan told The Hindu that he had paid around Rs.15,000 to four agents, who were operating from Madurai, Mandapam and others as transportation fee. They had snatched all valuables, including mobile phones, before boarding onto the boat. The agents and boatmen had not only cheated them but also made them to battle for life at the islet without water and food for two days. Mr. Saini added that the Coast Guard would take tough action against those trying to cross the IMBL from both sides illegally.