2 more SL migrants land on TN shores

Madurai: A boat carrying two suspected economic crisis migrants from Sri Lanka was spotted off shore in Thondi in Ramanathapuram district early on Thursday. The two held in the custody of Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group are identified as Jeyaseelan (27) and Winton Arulraj (34), sources said.

S Kanagaraj, Inspector, TN Coastal Security Group, Rameswaram, when contacted, said the duo are from Gurunagar, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. After enquiring about them, it was revealed that they were fishermen. They themselves rowed the boat that landed at Thondi around 5 am. Earlier, there were about five or six fishermen, who migrated along with their family members by sea from parts of Sri Lanka over the last one month. But, now, it’s strange that these two individuals are claiming themselves to be ‘fishermen.’ Citing these, the Inspector said orders from the high command are awaited and action would be taken accordingly. A multi investigative task force is continuously enquiring the duo whether they were involved in any illegal acts. So far, 70 Sri Lankan refugees migrated to parts of Ramanathapuram district by sea seeking asylum for economic reasons and these two men are yet to be accommodated in the Mandapam rehabilitation camp, the Inspector said on Thursday evening.