Voter ID for Lankan tourist in jail raises alarm

Electoral authorities face fresh scrutiny after the enforcement agency notified the state chief electoral officer that a Sri Lankan national, held in judicial custody under terror financing and money-laundering charges, remains listed as an active voter ina Chennai constituency.

- HD Bureau

The Directorate of Enforcement declared that the woman, identified as Letchumanan Mary Franciska, entered the country on a tourist visa in December 2019, overstayed, then procured Indian identity documents using forged credentials before securing inclusion on the voters roll.

According to agency figures, Franciska obtained an e-tourist visa on 16 December 2019 and then remained in the country without valid residence status. She was intercepted at Chennai airport in October 2021 while travelling on a fraudulently obtained Indian passport, which triggered an investigation by the state's Q Branch and later by the national agency.