Sri Lankan national booked in Kerala for not producing valid travel documents

A 30-year-old Sri Lankan national was arrested here on Sunday for not possessing valid travel documents, police said. The man, who identified himself as Maluge Juth Selfon Dias, was picked up from Thampanoor bus terminal in the city last night, they said.

"We have brought in translators from Sri Lankan Airlines to initiate conversation with the man, but he has not disclosed anything yet. As of now, he has been taken to Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu as part of investigation and will be produced before the magistrate today itself," investigating officer told PTI.

Dias, told the investigators that his bag, carrying passport, visa and other documents, had been stolen during the journey. However, he did not give any clear answer as to how he had reached the southern state.

"..The Intelligence Bureau (IB) and other officials from national agencies have interrogated him," police official said adding the man claimed that he had reached Kerala on February 20. The arrest of the Lankan man assumes significance in the wake of reports about the alleged visit of the perpetrators of the recent blast that had rocked Sri Lanka on the Easter day.

Sri Lanka Army's chief had revealed in a recent interview that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sort of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits. Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing over 250 people and injuring more than 500 others.

(With inputs from agencies.)