A court here today ordered that all the 120 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, arrested for attempting to travel to Australia by a boat illegally, be sent back to their respective camps across Tamil Nadu.
The court had earlier remanded the 79 men refugees in judicial custody and directed that the others -- 21 women and 20 children -- be kept in a marriage hall here.
When the matter came up for hearing today, the court ordered that all the refugees be sent back to their camps and dropped further proceedings.
The refugees were arrested on April 6 after one of the two boats in which they were heading to Australia from nearby Karaikal got stranded in mid-sea following a snag. They were rescued by the Coast Guard personnel and later arrested.
The refugees, residing in various camps including those in Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, Coimbatore and Sivaganga, had set out on the voyage seeking greener pasture in Australia.
