(June 24, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Following a direction from the government that Sri Lankan refugees living outside refugee camps should not own immovable assets in the state, the Tiruchi administration has launched an elaborate screening exercise across the district. District revenue officials and the police began fresh enumeration of Lankan refugees living outside camps and have started a check to ensure they did not own properties.
In Tiruchi district, as many as 1,608 Sri Lankan Tamils reside in Kottapattu transit camp while 1,632 reside in Vazhavandhankottai camp. However, an equal number of the refugees stay outside the camps, mostly in K K Nagar, Kumaran Nagar and Srinivasa Nagar. Some of them have been residing in these areas for nearly two decades.
They have found better jobs in the city, lead a better life than their counterparts in the camps and are earn better incomes to purchase houses and landed properties. Some of the refugees, who have relatives living abroad, also receive maintenance funds from them. It is this refugee population that has come under the scanner of the state Q branch police. “Not many property owners are aware that their client is a refugee and sell it to them,” an official in the district administration told.
Though it is mandatory for the refugees to register their names with the local police station, few adhere to the process. Only those arriving here by illegal ferries and get registered at Mandapam camp near Rameswaram provide their details to the police station. But some of those arriving in Tiruchi by air from Colombo evade the registration process and even manage to get their names removed from the police records by paying bribes.
It is this chunk of the refugee population that mostly tend to buy assets here, said official sources. The first document they obtain posing as Indian nationals is the Indian passport. The refugees obtain an Indian passport from touts who charge a few thousands of rupees depending on the financial capability of the person. With the passport as supporting document, they open a bank account and subsequently submit the passport and bank pass book to obtain a ration card.
After they obtain their ‘Indian’ identity, they begin the process of purchasing properties. Those who prefer to stay out of the camps are well to do and have their own sources of income. Few other Lankans have also managed to buy ‘benami’ assets in Tiruchi.
“In fact, refugees staying outside the camps were under surveillance for quite some time after information about their property purchase spree and their obvious signs of affluence. We had also alerted the state government in this regard earlier,’’ said a Q branch official. Now the police have tightened vigil on the 3000-odd Sri Lankan refugees living in residential areas, he added. “The exercise is to prevent intruders in the guise of refugees buying properties with ulterior motives,” he said.
Initially, the district administration and Q branch planned to prepare a fresh list of refugees living out side the camps and then collect details about their assets. Apart from immovable assets, the officials have also been instructed to collect details of two wheelers and four wheelers possessed by the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Collector T Soundiah said that suspected persons among the refugees are being closely watched and their credentials are being checked.
Measures to check “illegal activities” by a section of Tamil refugees suggested
Security agencies here have mooted some proposals including the shifting of the Mandapam refugees’ camp to an interior part of Tamil Nadu and constructing a compound wall to prevent “illegal activities” by a section of refugees utilising the location of the camp as an advantage. These suggestions follow the discussion on increasing arrival of refugees and its compounding problems to the security agencies at the recent conference of District Collectors and Superintendents of Police in Chennai.
The camp, originally built in 1917 by British rulers, was a transit point for shipping labourers going to Sri Lanka to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Since 1983, it has been serving as a “transit camp” for Tamil refugees, who flee from the ethnic violence in Sri Lanka.
Though officials call it a “protected camp,” its location shows it is not. It is situated on the shore of the Gulf of Mannar.
Except along the main entrance, there is no compound wall for the 287-acre camp. Boats can easily land, load and offload in the rear side at any time. It is said that some ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ and unlawful elements enter through the rear side and stay under the guise of refugees and leave whenever they want. Many Sri Lankans, who were arrested in the recent past for smuggling or other crimes, were either based at Mandapam camp or stayed illegally in and around it. Though there are around 115 refugee camps at different places in the State, most of the Sri Lankan refugees prefer to be accommodated at Mandapam or Kottapattu in Tiruchi district.
According to intelligence agencies a section of refugees feel that staying at Mandapam, which is just a couple of hours journey away from Talaimannar, is like staying at a coastal village in Sri Lanka. Since many refugees are fishermen by occupation, they think that taking a trip to their home country is not at all a problem.
Under these circumstances, the authorities think that it is pertinent to take some urgent measures.
“All issues pertaining to Sri Lankan refugees have been discussed in detail. Constructing a compound wall all along the 287-acre refugee camp at Mandapam was suggested to regulate the movement of insiders and outsiders,” K.A. Senthilvelan, Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu.
He said that it is a good suggestion to shift the Mandapam camp to an interior part of the State. The camp was already called as a “transit point” for refugees on record. Those who completed all mandatory procedures upon arrival could be shifted to other camps, he added.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
In Tiruchi district, as many as 1,608 Sri Lankan Tamils reside in Kottapattu transit camp while 1,632 reside in Vazhavandhankottai camp. However, an equal number of the refugees stay outside the camps, mostly in K K Nagar, Kumaran Nagar and Srinivasa Nagar. Some of them have been residing in these areas for nearly two decades.
They have found better jobs in the city, lead a better life than their counterparts in the camps and are earn better incomes to purchase houses and landed properties. Some of the refugees, who have relatives living abroad, also receive maintenance funds from them. It is this refugee population that has come under the scanner of the state Q branch police. “Not many property owners are aware that their client is a refugee and sell it to them,” an official in the district administration told.
Though it is mandatory for the refugees to register their names with the local police station, few adhere to the process. Only those arriving here by illegal ferries and get registered at Mandapam camp near Rameswaram provide their details to the police station. But some of those arriving in Tiruchi by air from Colombo evade the registration process and even manage to get their names removed from the police records by paying bribes.
It is this chunk of the refugee population that mostly tend to buy assets here, said official sources. The first document they obtain posing as Indian nationals is the Indian passport. The refugees obtain an Indian passport from touts who charge a few thousands of rupees depending on the financial capability of the person. With the passport as supporting document, they open a bank account and subsequently submit the passport and bank pass book to obtain a ration card.
After they obtain their ‘Indian’ identity, they begin the process of purchasing properties. Those who prefer to stay out of the camps are well to do and have their own sources of income. Few other Lankans have also managed to buy ‘benami’ assets in Tiruchi.
“In fact, refugees staying outside the camps were under surveillance for quite some time after information about their property purchase spree and their obvious signs of affluence. We had also alerted the state government in this regard earlier,’’ said a Q branch official. Now the police have tightened vigil on the 3000-odd Sri Lankan refugees living in residential areas, he added. “The exercise is to prevent intruders in the guise of refugees buying properties with ulterior motives,” he said.
Initially, the district administration and Q branch planned to prepare a fresh list of refugees living out side the camps and then collect details about their assets. Apart from immovable assets, the officials have also been instructed to collect details of two wheelers and four wheelers possessed by the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Collector T Soundiah said that suspected persons among the refugees are being closely watched and their credentials are being checked.
Measures to check “illegal activities” by a section of Tamil refugees suggested
Security agencies here have mooted some proposals including the shifting of the Mandapam refugees’ camp to an interior part of Tamil Nadu and constructing a compound wall to prevent “illegal activities” by a section of refugees utilising the location of the camp as an advantage. These suggestions follow the discussion on increasing arrival of refugees and its compounding problems to the security agencies at the recent conference of District Collectors and Superintendents of Police in Chennai.
The camp, originally built in 1917 by British rulers, was a transit point for shipping labourers going to Sri Lanka to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Since 1983, it has been serving as a “transit camp” for Tamil refugees, who flee from the ethnic violence in Sri Lanka.
Though officials call it a “protected camp,” its location shows it is not. It is situated on the shore of the Gulf of Mannar.
Except along the main entrance, there is no compound wall for the 287-acre camp. Boats can easily land, load and offload in the rear side at any time. It is said that some ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ and unlawful elements enter through the rear side and stay under the guise of refugees and leave whenever they want. Many Sri Lankans, who were arrested in the recent past for smuggling or other crimes, were either based at Mandapam camp or stayed illegally in and around it. Though there are around 115 refugee camps at different places in the State, most of the Sri Lankan refugees prefer to be accommodated at Mandapam or Kottapattu in Tiruchi district.
According to intelligence agencies a section of refugees feel that staying at Mandapam, which is just a couple of hours journey away from Talaimannar, is like staying at a coastal village in Sri Lanka. Since many refugees are fishermen by occupation, they think that taking a trip to their home country is not at all a problem.
Under these circumstances, the authorities think that it is pertinent to take some urgent measures.
“All issues pertaining to Sri Lankan refugees have been discussed in detail. Constructing a compound wall all along the 287-acre refugee camp at Mandapam was suggested to regulate the movement of insiders and outsiders,” K.A. Senthilvelan, Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu.
He said that it is a good suggestion to shift the Mandapam camp to an interior part of the State. The camp was already called as a “transit point” for refugees on record. Those who completed all mandatory procedures upon arrival could be shifted to other camps, he added.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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