Chennai: A Sri Lankan Tamil fisherman, his wife and two children undertook a daring journey on a small fishing boat from the crisis-ridden island nation and reached Dhanushkodi on Friday.
Inquiry by the police and intelligence agencies revealed that they spent 50,000 Sri Lankan rupees to sail to India illegally.
Interrogation revealed that they were from Sri Lanka’s Mannar district. They have been identified as Nishanthan Fernando, 34; his wife Ranjitha, 29; daughter Jensitta, 10; and son Akash, 2.
Nishanthan told the police that he decided to go to India because of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and he lost his job and was left with very little money to run his family.
‘The refugee identified as Nishant is a fisherman who along with his wife Ranjitha, daughter Jensitta and son Akash have reached Dhanushkodi Arichalmunai in a plastic boat after paying Rs 50,000,’ said the Coastal Security Wing Police.
According to Ranjitha, ‘There is no business there, even if a mason goes to work, he would find no cement there. There is no electricity for the carpenter to do his job’.
Last month, 16 Sri Lankans reached Dhanushkodi by fibre boats. Initially, they were arrested and sent to Puzhal Central Prison. However, the Tamilnadu government decided to put them up in the refugee camp at Mandapam.