ED flags presence of jailed Sri Lankan woman’s name in Tamil Nadu voters’ list

The name of a Sri Lankan national woman, who is in judicial custody after she was named in the charge sheet by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on charges of raising funds for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is active in the voters’ list of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Flagging the issue with the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said the Sri Lankan woman Letchumanan Mary Franciska overstayed in India citing COVID-19 and later obtained Aadhaar Card, PAN card, voters’ identity card, Indian passport, etc. on the basis of fake documents.

The accused woman was detained by the airport authorities when she was going to Bengaluru after obtaining an Indian passport issued by the Regional Passport Officer, Chennai. She had come to India on a tourist visa in 2019 and overstayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further investigation revealed that Franciska was involved in transferring funds to the of active cadres of LTTE.

After the Tamil Nadu government reported the matter to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the investigation was handed over to the NIA which registered a case in Delhi. The agency filed a chargesheet in March 2022 before the special judge, NIA, Poonamallee, alleging that accused “acted on the instructions of Denmark-based LTTE cadre Umakanthan with the aim of reviving LTTE and aiding LTTE-aligned Sri Lankan Tamil families.”

It was also alleged she came to India to fraudulently show herself as a legal heir of an Indian citizen in whose name there existed bank balance of ₹42.28 crore in Mumbai. Franciska was caught while attempting to withdraw the money. The ED had booked a case against the woman under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The ED, in a letter to the CEO said, the voter ID of Franciska, which was fraudulently obtained by her, was still active though it was found by Tamil Nadu government about four years ago that she is a Sri Lankan national. Sharing the screenshot of the voter’s identity details, address, polling booth etc., the agency requested the Election Commission of India to take necessary action, including verification of votes cast and cancellation of her voter’s ID as she is not an Indian citizen.