Kochi: The Kerala Police will seek the help of Sri Lankan internal probe agency, State Intelligence Service (SIS), in the Munambam human trafficking case.
The police will cooperate with SIS for information on Sri Lankan nationals Mariyappan Satyarajan and Thambirajan Satyarajan who left on the boat to Australia on January 12. Prabhu Dandavani, who is under arrest in the case, has told the police that those who left the shores onboard the 'Dayamatha' includes 50 people of Sri Lankan origin.
Though Dandavani is a Marathi surname, Prabhu has Lankan roots. He has visited Australia and New Zealand many times on trafficking boats. The police have identified 10 middlemen in Munambam case. Prabhu had helped his colleagues in New Delhi to collect money from refugees. While Prabhu tried to mislead investigators during interrogation, another detainee, Deepak, has been cooperative. The police may consider making Deepak a witness in the case.
The boat was initially planned to leave the shores on January 9. But national strikes on 8 and 9 made that difficult. The refugees who stayed at hotels near temples in Guruvayur, Kodungallur, Chottanikkara and Cherai became restless after the travel plans got delayed. They argued over phone with Thakkala Sreekanth, the trafficking kingpin in Kerala, and teamed up to protest at their hotels. Sreekanth was thus forced to buy ‘Dayamatha’ boat without a price negotiation and set sail on January 12.
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