Sri Lankan refugees held in TN for trying to return home

Six Sri Lankan Tamils were arrested at Kodhandaramarkoil sea coast near here on Tuesday for attempting to return to the island nation in an illegal boat. The Sri Lankan refugees, who came to India in 2012, possessed both Aadhar card and the Sri Lankan ID cards besides bank pass books belonging to both the countries, police said.

They had been staying in Thiruvallur near Chennai and planned to back to their home country as the civil war ended and normalcy returned to the island nation, they said. They had paid Rs 40,000 to a Sri Lankan ferry owner and were waiting to leave when they were arrested, they added.

They would be lodged in Puzhal prison in Tiruvallur, police said..