The CCB identified them as Kasan Kumara Sanka, from Gampha, near Colombo; Amila Nuwan, from Kaduwela, Colomba district; and Ranga Prasad, from Colombo.
Credit: Special arrangement.
Three Sri Lankans allegedly involved in nearly a dozen murders back home were arrested in northern Bengaluru "by a quirk of fate", according to the Central Crime Branch (CCB).
The Sri Lankans sneaked into India by a fishing boat in the first week of August and reached Bengaluru by road. In the city, they were given shelter in a rented flat by a 42-year-old fugitive murder accused named Jai Paramesh.
The CCB was hot on the trail of Paramesh, a resident of Bagalur Cross, Yelahanka, because he had stopped court hearings related to the murder case against him.
Acting on a specific tip-off, the CCB's economic offences wing swooped down on a flat in Viswa Prakruthi Green Woods Apartment, Jakkur, on Wednesday and picked up Paramesh. CCB sleuths also rounded up three men in their mid-30s who lived in the same flat but knew neither Kannada nor Hindi and who didn't have any Indian identification.
The officials got suspicious. To the CCB's questions, the trio replied in broken English that they were from Sri Lanka but didn't have passports or visas. Further inquiries, however, revealed their criminal antecedents.
The CCB identified them as Kasan Kumara Sanka, from Gampha, near Colombo; Amila Nuwan, from Kaduwela, Colomba district; and Ranga Prasad, from Colombo.
According to the CCB, Sanka was involved in four murders, Nuwan in five and Prasad in two cases of assault/murder.
The CCB confiscated a total of 53 items from the flat, including 23 Aadhaar cards of local residents and 13 mobile phones. Nine visiting cards from Sri Lanka, including one in Sinhalese, were also found.
The CCB arrested the trio and Paramesh under the Foreigners Act and IPC sections related to harbouring an offender and criminal conspiracy. A case has been registered at the Yelahanka police station in this regard.
S D Sharanappa, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), said the foreigners illegally entered India through the Dhanushkodi-Rameswaram route. "Their antecedents show they could be among the most wanted in Sri Lanka," he told DH.
He said it was too early to say why they had come to India. The CCB has yet to contact the Sri Lankan authorities, he added.
The CCB said the Sri Lankans' illegal entry into India was facilitated by a Bengalurean named Jalal, who is believed to have been arrested in Oman but there's no official word about it. Paramesh worked for Jalal.
While Sharanappa refused to confirm or deny Jalal's arrest, another CCB officer said the information was being ascertained.
Sharanappa said it was also unclear how the Sri Lankans got in touch with Jalal. "That's the subject of investigation," he said.
The CCB boss said the Aadhaar cards found in the flat were unconnected to the Sri Lankans. "We seized them because we want to trace all the people who harboured these illegal immigrants," he said.
Unconfirmed reports said the Sri Lankans were linked to the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) but CCB officials said the foreigners didn't know Tamil.
The CCB is also trying to find out if there's any lookout notice against the Sri Lankans.