The 38 Sri Lankan nationals, who were arrested in the city in June in connection with illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings, were shifted to the Central Prison in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
These 38 were among a group of Sri Lankan nationals who landed in Thoothukudi of Tamil Nadu on boats on March 17 this year. As vigilance had been intensified in Tamil Nadu during the Assembly elections, these 38 left by road for Bengaluru and then, reached Mangaluru. They had paid 10 lakh Sri Lankan rupees to agents for going to Canada. Before they could leave Mangaluru, the city police, in association with Tamil Nadu Police, arrested them. The Tamil Nadu Police had earlier arrested another batch of Sri Lankan nationals in their State.
On July 24, the National Investigation Agency took over investigation of these two cases in which some arrested persons were found to have had links with the LTTE. After orders from the jurisdictional NIA court in Bengaluru, the city police shifted the 38 Sri Lankan nationals from Mangaluru District Prison to Bengaluru on Wednesday. A team of 30 policemen escorted the Sri Lankan nationals, Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar told reporters on Thursday.
