India arrests seven Tiger suspects
The ‘Q’ branch police in Tamil Nadu have arrested seven LTTE
sympathisers, including Sri Lankan refugee Sivakrishnan alias Nanthan,
30, and K Murugapandi, 27, of Pothampuli near Kamudhi.
The ‘Q’ branch police team led by Madurai city Inspector R
Venkateshan also seized 5,000 detonators meant for smuggling to Sri
Lanka for the LTTE and the ‘hawala’ money of Rs 150,000 given to
Murugapandi by the militant outfit to purchase detonators.
Based on a tip-off, ‘Q’ branch officers monitored the movement of
passengers in Madurai Railway junction on January 8. Around 1 p.m., the
police arrested Sivakrishnan alias Nanthan of Vettuvangeni, Chennai and
seized 5,000 detonators from him.
They also arrested S Muthuramalingam (30) of Potham puli, Kamudhi,
who accompanied Sivakrishnan. During interrogation, Sivakrishnan, who
had returned to Chennai from Sri Lanka, admitted to his involvement in
the smuggling of 5,000 detonators on January 3 at the behest of Rogan of
Mannar.
He had come to Madurai to hand over another 5,000 detonators to
Murugapandi through Muthuramalingam. Police rushed to Ramanathapuram and
arrested K Murugapandi along with an autodriver R. Raja (31), boat
driver Bhoo Murugan (21), Chandra (25) and Senthil Murugan (27) from
Ponthampalli in the district.
Raja, Bhoo Murugan, Chandra and Senthil Murugan had assisted
Murugapandi in transporting the detonators.
During interrogation, Shiva Krishnan reportedly told police that he
had already sent 50,000 detonators to Mannar in Sri Lanka through
another person named Murugapandi (27), hailing from Ramanathapuram on
January 3.
All seven persons were remanded to judicial custody by a court
yesterday.
The arrests followed the detention in Mangalore of three men who
raised funds for the LTTE through fake credit cards.
Meanwhile, Chennai Police have introduced a hotline (100) for
reporting suspicious activities.
If any resident suspects a neighbour of indulging in illegal
activities, all he has to do is pick up the phone and call 100.
And the police will swoop down, they will check the neighbour’s
house, question him or her and then watch the house to ensure these
so-called illegal activities don’t continue.
“There has been an increase in naxal activities and LTTE cadres in
the state. But the police should ask people renting out houses to inform
them about who is living in that house and if possible give a copy of
the lease agreement to the police.
That’s all the public can be asked to do to co-operate,” says a
resident, S Ganesan.
The Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department on Wednesday warned fishermen
against crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL)
following reports of battle between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan navy in
mid-sea, officials said.
Fishermen who crossed the IMBL would be dealt with severely and their
boats seized, Fisheries Commissioner Shambu Kaleluker said.
The Coast Guard in Kollam refuted reports that unidentified ships
were dumping arms along the Kerala Coast, adding that the west coast
faced no “serious threat” from militant outfits including the LTTE.
“The country’s western coast is not facing any serious threat from
militant outfits, including the LTTE. Reports that unidentified vessels
were making trips to the area to dump arms were not correct,” said Coast
Guard Western Regional Commandant A Rajasekhar.
He was speaking to the media aboard the Coast Guard ship ‘Savitribhai
Bhule.’
|