2 refugees flee camp, arrested in Sri Lanka

Coimbatore: Days after the arrest of a 33-year-old man and his eight-year-old daughter, who escaped to Sri Lanka from a refugee camp in the district last week, the Sri Lankan police have detained six people, who helped the duo reach the country in a boat from Rameswaram, on Friday.
According to a police source, J Pulendran, 33, a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee, his wife Kamalaveni, 30, and daughter were staying at the Pooluvapatti refugee camp. He was a wall painter.
The source said Kamalaveni had lodged a complaint with the Alandurai police against her husband, following a family quarrel two months ago. “Police held inquiry with the couple and the issue was settled amicably.”
Meanwhile, Pulendran and his daughter went missing from the refugee camp more than a week ago. His wife subsequently alerted the revenue department and Q-branch CID officials.
On June 1, police officials came to know from the Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka that Pulendran and his daughter had safely reached Talaimannar in that country illegally in a boat. “They surrendered before the Madu police that falls under Mannar division in Sri Lanka on June 2. They were arrested and interrogated.”
Preliminary inquiry revealed that Pulendran and his daughter had reached the coastal area of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka in a boat in the early hours of June 1. “He took his daughter to a village and the next day they surrendered before police, who sent them to a camp at Batticaloa,” the source said.
On Friday, police there detained six Sri Lankan Tamils for helping Pulendran reach the country from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and seized the boat, which was used to ferry him, from them.