Polish national arrested in Tamil Nadu for illegal entry into India from Sri Lanka

Wladyslaw, 40, is believed to have entered via the sea route from Sri Lanka using an inflatable kayak

A Polish national was arrested by the Nagapattinam district police for entering India without valid documents via the sea route from Sri Lanka. He is believed to have entered India through an inflatable kayak, which was found near Kodiyakarai in Vedaranyam in the district on Sunday.

Wladyslaw, 40, entered India on Sunday morning from from Sri Lanka, where he had served a prison term for entering into a brawl at a bar. Police began searching for him after they found the inflatable kayak on the shore.

Also Read | Motorcyclist burnt alive as bike hits fuel tanker in Vijayanagara

Police subsequently arrested Wladyslaw and remanded him under the Passports Act based on a tip-off from residents of Arukatuthurai fishing hamlet. The Polish national was roaming around villages close to Kodiyakarai (Point Calimere) for the whole of Sunday but the villagers of Arukatuthurai found his movements suspicious, especially after he asked them how to reach Chennai, and informed the police.

“He (the Polish national) was arrested for entering India without valid documents. He didn’t have any documents with him. During the investigation, he told us that he was arrested in Sri Lanka and his passport was seized. He also said he came to India illegally in the hopes of getting back to Poland,” G Jawahar, Nagapattinam district Superintendent of Police, told DH.

The police officer also said Poland's diplomatic mission in India will be informed about Wladyslaw’s arrest for non-possession of travel documents.

Also Read | Class 12 student found dead in school hostel in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur

Police sources said the abandoned kayak at Kodiyakarai had triggered a major security scare, with the district administration going for an aerial search of the reserve forest in the area.

Sources said police are investigating whether the Polish national used the inflated kayak to reach all the way from Jaffna in Sri Lanka or used it from the point where he was dropped off by another boat.