LTTE Financial Division:

Top Tiger killed

Ranil WIJAYAPALA

Sabaratnam Selvathurai alias Ranjith Appa alias Thamilendri, the Head of the LTTE Financial Division has been killed in a Security Forces artillery attack directed to Puthukudiyiruppu believed to be on Monday or Tuesday, Military sources confirmed yesterday.

According to military sources Sabaratnam Selvathurai a resident of Pallai Jaffna was among the first batch of LTTE cadres trained in India in the early 1980’s has been a close confidante of the Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

He had been trained in India along with LTTE Intelligence leader Pottu Amman, Sea Tiger leader Soosai and LTTE Education Section leader Baby Subramanium. He has handled all financial matters of the LTTE including allocation of funds to LTTE’s international arms smuggler K P Pathmanathan. He had coordinated international arms smuggling along with K.P. Pathmanathan.

According to military intelligence Ranjith Appa has been injured during a battle in Velvetithurai, Jaffna.

Later he was arrested by the Indian Peace Keeping Force in November 1987 and was released in the early 1990’s.