The remand period of the Indian national arrested for human trafficking in the Maldives, has been increased.

The Criminal Court ordered to add 15 more days to the remand of the Indian national, accused of human trafficking or involvement in human trafficking.

Arrested in mid-March was Venkataramana Palla, 20. He had been residing at a guesthouse in Henveiru-district of the congested capital, Malé City at the time of his arrest.

The Criminal Court remanded Palla at a custodial prison for 15 days initially. The remand period has expired since, and the court gave him an additional remand period on Saturday.

Palla’s remand period will now expire on April 16.

The court in its order stated that there was sufficient evidence against him to prove the charges against him.

The court order also states that based on the statement of the accused and the information contained in the report prepared by the police in connection with the incident, it appears that he had a role in the trafficking of persons.

According to the court order, Palla is believed to be the person reported by his sponsor to have been hiding.

The order goes on to read that it was considered to be an offence involving many individuals, including criminal activities within a large human trafficking ring in the country as well as abroad, which may have resulted in the victimization of many.