Four Sri Lankan Tamils, allegedly part of a racket that forged Indian passports for sending refugees to European countries, were arrested in Chennai by the sleuths of Q-Branch police, on Tuesday. Police are on the lookout for two others who are suspected to be part of the gang.

The officials received a tip-off that a gang has been active for over a year, luring Lankan Tamil refugees in the State with the promise to help them escape to European countries on forged papers. Sources said the gang took aspiring immigrants to countries like Nepal where Indians can go without visa requirement and from there to the European countries, as there is lesser vigil on documents when compared to the Indian airports. Following this, a series of raids were conducted at several places, netting the quartet from an undisclosed location in Chennai.

The four were identified as Balan alias Balachandran (48) and Lingaran aliyas Athiyaman (40), both  from Jaffna, Dhanushan (22), and Jeyadasan (43), both from Mullaitheevu, said officials. Officials also recovered a dozen forged Indian Passports and around `1.50 lakh from their possession.

It is learnt that Balan, suspected to be the mastermind, had been luring refugees desperately trying to immigrate to European countries.

“The racket will levy a hefty charge for forging and processing the travel documents. They managed to send some people to France, but the numbers are not yet known,” said a senior official.

The gang was getting ready to dispatch a batch of about 15 people to France and other European countries when they were arrested.

Asked as to how much the gang was charging and how many persons have been sent so far, the official maintained that disclosing the information will disrupt their investigation which is only at a preliminary stage now.

On France being chosen, the official said refugees perhaps believed that it was easy to get a job and better life in that country. “It may also be because they think they might get the refugee status and citizenship in France easily,” the official opined.
(The New Indian Express)