A Sri Lankan Tamil was rescued by fishermen after they found him struggling to swim towards the Rameswaram coast of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

The man’s sudden appearance in the sea created a flutter among fishermen who assumed he had swum all the way from Sri Lanka. But inquiries revealed he undertook a trip to the sea with a group of fishermen who dropped him off at an islet from where he swam ashore. The islet was about 200 m from the Rameswaram shore.

G Sindhujan (23), son of Gnanasekaran from Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka, told Q Branch sleuths he had come to Tamil Nadu seeking refuge a year back and was staying at Uthandi near Chennai where he used to sign at the Kanathur police station every day as required.

“He said he had a brother named Jayanthan in Sri Lanka. Since he believed that Jayanthan would also have reached Tamil Nadu, he left Uthandi a few days back and began searching for him in Lankan refugee camps across the state,” said a Q branch official, citing Sindhujan’s statements.

He visited Mandapam two days back and searched for Jayanthan there. On Tuesday, he approached some fishermen at Pamban and requested them for a boat ride. They agreed and took him into the sea when they went fishing, the official said. Apparently, sensing the risk of keeping a Sri Lankan Tamil in the boat when the Lanka navy was prowling the area, the fishermen dropped Sindhujan at an islet and promised to take him back when they returned.

But, worried after they failed to return even on Wednesday morning, Sindhujan began to swim across the sea to the shore, police said. He was taken to the government hospital and given treatment before being taken away for questioning. “We verified his statements. It is true that he was at Uthandi for a year and signed at Kanathur police station,” the official said. However, his intention of taking the boat ride has raised suspicion and police are continuing the probe, Times of India reports.