‘Turkish national has no terror links’

Police say he considered India a safe destination

RAMANATHAPURAM

Mahir Devrim (43), the Turkish national who landed in police net here on Saturday night when he clandestinely arrived at Serankottai seashore in Rameswaram from Sri Lanka, has no terror links, if the interrogations conducted by different security agencies were any indication.

Interrogations by sleuths of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) from Madurai, Intelligence Bureau, Q Branch, Special Banch and local police revealed that Devrim, who “faced threat to his life”, had left Turkey in 1999 and had been visiting different countries, looking for a safe destination, before he landed in Rameswaram island.

The police said he had been working in crude oil drilling sites and active in ‘Kurdistan Workers’ Party’, the Marxist-Leninist organisation which rebelled against the Republic of Turkey, and left the country, fearing a threat to his life. He reached Colombo from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 28, they said.

After reaching Jaffna by road, he chose to reach Rameswaram island on being told that India would be a safe destination. When the security agencies interrogated him, he was repeatedly telling them that he faced a threat to his life and decided to come to India to ensure safety, Superintendent of Police Omprakash Meena said.

After leaving Turkey, he had visited Ukraine, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Mongolia, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, he said. One of his brothers in Thailand was helping him meet his travel expenses, the police said.

His iPad has some pictures of his family members and there were no incriminating materials in the two bags he was carrying, the police said.

In a brief written statement, Devrim said he had married a Russian woman in August 2016 and divorced her the next year. He knew Turkish, Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian, he said.

After completing the interrogation, the police arrested Devrim under Sections 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, read with Section 6 (a) (b) of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950.