Ten Sri Lankan nationals, including five children, were stranded on Dhanushkodi coast in Tamil Nadu on Monday morning and were picked up by security agencies for interrogation.

The Sri Lankan nationals reached the Indian shore on an illegal ferry, police said.

During interrogation, the Sri Lankan nationals alleged that they are under constant fear of being detained by the government agencies since the government has launched a drive against the Tamil population. They said many Tamils had been locked up for months without trial and so they had had escaped from Sri Lanka, according to official sources, Times of India reported.