By KUNA,
New Delhi : As many as 20 Sri Lankan Tamil pilgrims have been arrested in Indias southern state of Tamil Nadu while they were coming down the hill housing a famous Hindu shrine of Lord Ayyapa at Sabarimala.
They were arrested because some of them didnt possess valid travel documents. They simple held identity cards purportedly issued by Ministry of Hindu Religious and Cultural Affairs of Sri Lanka, said a Press Trust of India (PTI) report.
On being confronted by the police, the Sri Lankan pilgrims gave contradictory replies, which caused doubts in the minds of the police and they were instantly arrested.
They were produced before a lower court in the state on Saturday.
The pilgrims said they had arrived in Tamil Nadu capital Chennai by a flight from Sri Lankam town of Jaffna, prone to fighting between the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Ealam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan military forces.
The report quoted police sources as saying that eight of them had passports in their possession but not valid travel documents.