The Sri Lankan army on Thursday rejected allegations by a Sri Lankan Tamil living in Australia who claimed to have been tortured and abused by the army intelligence officers while he visited the island recently.

Australian media on Thursday quoting a Sri Lankan Tamil man named 'Kumar' reported claims of torture and rape allegedly by Sri Lankan army intelligence officers while the victim was on a three week stay in the country.

However, military spokesperson Ruwan Wanigasooriya told Xinhua that the false allegations were made for a specific reason as it was an attempt by parties that campaign in Australia against extradition of economic refugees who illegally migrate purely for economic reasons.

"Their attempt is to paint a false picture and pressurize the Australian authorities in order to influence the current policy of deportation. In the recent past, close to 1,000 persons have been returned and they lead normal lives," Wanigasooriya said.

In an interview with Australian media, the victim 'Kumar' said that as he returned to Sri Lanka in March, less than a week after his arrival he and his brothers were allegedly abducted at gunpoint by two men in a white van.

He alleged that the men claimed to be army intelligence officers and grilled him about links to the Tamil Tigers, which he denied.

He further alleged that on the fourth and final day of his ordeal, Kumar's captors branded his back with hot irons and he only made it back to Australia because his uncle paid a $20,000 bribe to his captors.

The military spokesperson however said that such allegations were just another attempt to justify illegal entry into Australia and to resist the Australian government's stand on illegal asylum seekers who migrate to Australia and other western countries purely for economic gains.

Last year the Australian government announced that almost half of the asylum seekers who arrived in that country were from Sri Lanka.

The Australian government has been sending Sri Lankans home, citing that the threat of war and persecution is over in the island nation.