Four Sri Lankan Tamils arrested

Rameswaram: Four Sri Lankan Tamils, including two women, were arrested Wednesday after they arrived here without proper documents in an illegal ferry, a senior police official said.

On questioning, the four claimed they were "forced to leave the island nation due to scarcity of food and high price of essential commodities there", Kennedy, "Q" branch police Inspector, said. The four were from different families of Vavuniya and Jaffna in Sri Lanka. The refugees, Shanthi, Malar, Sabesh and Subbiah, had paid Rs 20,000 each as ferry charges to drop them at Arichal Munai, a sand dune off Danushkodi, Kennedy said. The four were sent to refugee camp at Mandapam near here after registering cases under Indian Passport Act, he said.