10 Foreigners Arrested For Voting In Tamil Nadu Polls. How They Were Caught

In a startling development days after the Tamil Nadu Assembly election results, immigration authorities have arrested multiple foreigners, mostly Sri Lankan nationals, at the airports in Chennai and Madurai for allegedly voting in the last month's state elections despite holding foreign passports, officials told NDTV.

At least 10 individuals, including four women, were arrested in Chennai. The arrested individuals from Sri Lanka were identified as Ranjini (59), Sarfudeen (68), Nilanthi (44), Jeyanthan (40), Charlie Balachandran (48), Chakravarthy Logapriya (50), and Sunitha Chakravarthy (48). Other arrested nationals included Ayyadurai (53) from the UK, Tittin Mariatti (47) from Indonesia, and Jitthendranath (38) from Canada.

The arrests were reportedly made after immigration officers noticed indelible ink marks on the index fingers of passengers during pre-departure checks.

An airport official at Chennai Airport confirmed the action to NDTV, saying, "Yes, we have arrested them. They have an indelible ink mark on their index finger."

Authorities said the individuals, despite travelling on Sri Lankan passports, were also in possession of Indian voter identity cards issued by the Election Commission of India - a combination officials say is illegal under Indian law.

"Foreign passport holders holding Indian voter ID cards issued by the Election Commission is illegal," another senior immigration official told NDTV, adding that investigations are underway to determine how the documents were obtained and whether they were used to vote in the recently concluded election.

Officials said the first arrest was made on Tuesday, though the exact number of people detained has not yet been officially confirmed.

Investigators are also probing whether nationals from countries other than Sri Lanka may have been involved.

The incident could potentially trigger a major political and administrative controversy in Tamil Nadu, especially as it comes shortly after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted ahead of the polls.

The revision exercise was aimed at deleting names of voters who have died and those who had permanently relocated while updating and cleaning the rolls.

According to official figures, nearly 74 lakh names were deleted from the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu during the revision process, while around 27.5 lakh new voters were added.

The latest arrests are now raising serious questions over how foreign nationals allegedly continued to remain on the voter list and whether there were lapses in verification mechanisms.

The developments assume significance amid heightened political scrutiny following the high-voltage April 22 Assembly elections that ended the decades-long Dravidian duopoly in the state. Election authorities and immigration officials are expected to share details with central agencies as the probe widens.

Sources said investigators are now examining travel records, voter registration documents and polling data to establish whether the accused had indeed voted and if there was any larger network facilitating fraudulent enrolment.