Chennai: Four Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who were kept in the custody for illegally fleeing their country and reaching Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, were booked under various sections of the Passport Act and Foreigners Act and lodged in Puzhal prison on Wednesday.
Around 16 Sri Lankan nationals reached Indian waters in two batches on Tuesday amid one of the worst economic crises in the island nation.
According to a report on Times of India, initially six persons were held at the fourth island of Rameswaram and of the total three adults and an infant was lodged in Puzhal prison in Chennai on Wednesday. Two other children were handed over to the mother of an arrested person who lives in a Sri Lankan rehabilitation camp in Gudiyatham.
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The six persons were identified as Gajendran (24), his wife Mary Clarin (23), their four-month-old son Nishanth, Dory (28) of Kokkupadayan, her two children Ester (9) and Moses (6).
On Wednesday, the six persons were produced before the magistrate S Vijay Anand after they were taken to Rameswaram Government Hospital and screened for COVID-19.
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Meanwhile, 10 other Sri Lankan Tamils who arrived on Tuesday night are yet to be produced before the magistrate. However, one of the Sri Lankan Tamil who reached Tamil Nadu said that their country has been severely affected by the worst economic crisis and many of them are finding it difficult to buy even the essential food items.
With the skyrocketing prices every minute, she said, she was finding it difficult to offer even a single meal to her kids.