Tirupur Mayor complains of Tiger threats

An Indian Navy warship has taken up position in the Gulf of Mannar to step up vigil along the strip of water that separates India from the Thalaimannar tip of north Sri Lanka reports from Rameswaram said. This stretch is a popular crossover point for Sri Lankan Tamils.

The newly posted Mayor of the textile hub of Tirupur, near Coimbatore, has filed a police complaint saying LTTE cadres have threatened him and are demanding money.

Mayor K. Selvaraj said he has been receiving several threatening calls on his mobile phone from London from 8.20 a.m. The callers have been demanding Rs.10 million for the “Eelam cause”.

The first caller identified himself as one Ramamurthy. Then other callers came on the line, confirmed whether he was Selvaraj, and identified themselves as Ganaseelan, David and Prabhakaran.

The Mayor added that the callers threatened to kill him if he failed to raise the money within a week.

Police said the numbers from which Selvaraj received the calls were from a foreign country and the callers spoke Tamil and English with a Sri Lankan Tamil accent.

Police are investigating the threat calls and have stepped up security for the Mayor and his family.

IANS