A young man, who fled Sri Lanka in a boat to India, jumped into the sea while nearing Tamil Nadu coast and swam till he reached the shore near Rameswaram, police said on Monday.
The 24-year old man joined a 5-member family and they together began their clandestine journey from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to India on the night of October 8 in a boat, a marine police official said.
When the boat was close to Tamil Nadu coast, the man, identified as Kasankan Ravichandran, jumped into the sea, off a sand dune/islet, he said. From that point, he swam till he reached the shore close to Mandapam after crossing Arichalmunai-Dhanushkodi areas in coastal Tamil Nadu.
Kasankan reported to officials in Mandapam on Sunday and he is being questioned. Roughly, he reportedly covered 6-8 nautical miles.
During preliminary questioning, it was found that he had a Sri Lankan passport that expired in 2020. His parents are reportedly living in Puducherry. A probe is on, the official said.
The other five people, a man, his wife and their 3 children reached the Mandapam Rehabilitation Camp run by the Tamil Nadu government.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
