The Thampanoor police on Sunday recorded the arrest of a suspected Sri Lankan national after he was found without travel and identification documents.

The accused, who identified himself as Maluge Juth Shelton Diaz, 32, and claimed to hail from Weliweriya in Sri Lanka, was detained at the KSRTC bus terminal in Thampanoor on Saturday evening after he had apparently gone to enrol himself for the Awaz health insurance scheme for migrant labourers.

According to Thampanoor station house officer (SHO) V.P. Mohanlal, the accused claimed to have arrived in the State capital on February 20 and has been leading a nomadic life ever since.

Stolen

“He claims to have reached Thiruvananthapuram after travelling on a flight ticket that he bought from Sri Lanka after paying around ₹4,000. He has also alleged that a bag, which purportedly contained his passport and other documents, had been stolen during the journey,” the officer said.

The accused also claimed that he had friends and relatives in Nagercoil and had come to India to visit them.

However, his statements were found to be contradictory and had to be ascertained, the official said.

Sinhalese

The police questioned the accused, who conversed in Sinhalese and broken English, with the assistance of an interpreter. Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Military Intelligence and Q Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department of Tamil Nadu police interrogated the accused.

Easter attacks

The development assumed importance in wake of the Easter Sunday terror attack that rocked Sri Lanka recently. He was booked under various sections of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act. The Sri Lankan Embassy had been intimated of the arrest, official sources said.