ID :
41245
Sat, 01/17/2009 - 18:30
Auther :

Sri Lankan Tamil pilgrims held at Sabarimala

Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Jan 17 (PTI) Twenty Sri
Lankan Tamil pilgrims visiting the shrine of Lord Ayyapa at
Sabarimala here in India's southern state of Kerala, have been
arrested as they did not possess proper travel documents.

The pilgrims, who were said to have come from Jaffna
in Sri Lanka, were arrested late Friday night and they would
be produced in the court later Saturday, police sources said.

The pilgrims, part of a 28-member team, claimed that
they came by air to Chennai a few days back and made
preparations for making the trip to the hill shrine from an
ashram at Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. Eight of them had
passports in their possession.

They reached Sabarimala on Thursday and ended up with
the police Friday while trekking down the hills after paying
obeisance.

Police said eight of them had travel documents while
others had in their possession the identity cards purportedly
issued by Ministry of Hindu Religious and Cultural Affairs of
Sri Lanka.

During questioning, they claimed that their passports
and other documents were kept in the ashram at
Tiruchirappalli.

Police sources, however, said their responses to
queries sounded a bit contradictory. Tamil Nadu police had
also been informed of the matter for further investigations.
PTI Corr/NM
PMR

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