According to the cops, fishermen in the area alerted them after they spotted the family and their boat near the shore. “They are being shifted to the Mandapam camp. Further steps will be decided after the state intelligence and central agencies complete their procedures,” an officer said. The family sailed to the shore in Tamil Nadu on a fibre boat. They had told the local officials that they had started sailing from the Jaffna coast in the north of Sri Lanka. Around 16 people have reached Rameswaram in the last month in two boats, all from Mannar, south of Jaffna. On Friday morning, a source in Mannar said that at least 15 refugees, who were trying to flee the country, were taken into custody by the Sri Lankan navy on Thursday night. “The family that reached India might be the one which managed to escape the navy patrol,” he added. After reports of 16 Sri Lankan refugees reaching India made international headlines, the navy had tightened vigil on the international waters as a refugee crisis would be the last thing that the Sri Lankan government would want to deal with amid the ongoing economic struggle. On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin apprised the Centre that his state was ready to ship essential commodities, like rice and life-saving drugs, to Sri Lanka, considering the welfare of the Tamils there. Seeking permission for its distribution through the Indian High Commission, Stalin spoke over a call with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and expressed his deep concern over the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Source: New Indian Express