2 Lankan Tamil youths reach TN to avoid LTTE conscription

The ongoing clash between the two LTTE factions had its first fallout here, with two Sri Lankan Tamil youths landing in Rameswaram on Friday morning. The two said they fled the island nation fearing forced conscription by the Karuna faction.

The youths have been identified as Pratheepan (18) and Ganakeswar (20). They were arrested and remanded to custody today.

The youths were caught when they were trying to convert Lankan currency into Indian rupees. They admitted that they entered India without valid documents and said they paid a boatman Rs 6,000 to ferry them across. According to them, many families from Batticaloa were moving towards Trincomalee and other places and were waiting to cross over to India.