Ten foreign nationals have been arrested in Chennai for allegedly engaging in illegal voting during the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly elections using fraudulently obtained documents.
Chennai police arrested 10 foreign nationals-four of them women-for allegedly casting illegal votes using fraudulently obtained identity documents in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, officials said on Thursday.
According to a press release, the individuals were intercepted by immigration authorities at Chennai international airport while attempting to leave the country after the polls, which were held on April 23.
Investigations revealed that despite holding foreign citizenship and not being Indian citizens, the accused had stayed in various parts of the state to allegedly exercise their franchise illegally, the release said.
Following a complaint by immigration officials to the Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate, nine cases were registered between May 7 and May 14 by the Central Crime Branch and local police units.
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 United Kingdom, Tittin Mariatti (47) from Indonesia, and Jitthendranath (38) from Canada.
All the accused were produced before a court for further legal proceedings, the statement added.