CHENNAI: A Sri Lankan national, residing in France, was arrested early Thursday morning at Chennai International Airport while attempting to travel to France, after immigration officials discovered indelible ink on his finger — evidence that he had illegally voted in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election.
The passenger, identified as Abraham (65), a native of Aruppukkottai in Tamil Nadu, arrived at the airport to board an IndiGo flight to Doha, en route to France. Although he was carrying a Sri Lankan passport, officials detected voting ink on his left index finger during routine verification.
Upon questioning, it was revealed that Abraham, an Indian by birth, had acquired Sri Lankan citizenship several years ago and is currently residing in France. He had allegedly traveled to his hometown in April to vote illegally in the Aruppukkottai constituency during the single-phase polling held on April 23 for all 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu.
The Election Commission of India, acting on intelligence that several overseas citizens had returned and voted unlawfully, had directed immigration authorities at Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, and Coimbatore airports to scrutinize outbound passengers. Specifically, officials were instructed to examine the fingers of travelers for any trace of electoral ink.
Following this directive, immigration officials at Chennai stopped Abraham, cancelled his travel, and took him into custody. He is being held in a separate room and will be handed over to the Chennai Central Crime Branch police later today. The Election Commission has also been informed.
With this arrest, the total number of overseas citizens or foreign nationals detained at Tamil Nadu airports for allegedly voting illegally in the state assembly election and attempting to flee the country has risen to 19.
