15 Lankans face charges in Kerala over LTTE links
Fifteen Sri Lankans arrested in March by the Indian Coast Guard have been chargesheeted in a Special Court in Kerala by the National Investigation Agency ( NIA), India’s premier agency probing terrorist related crimes.
According to well-placed sources in Kochi, the arrests are linked to the 15 being involved with LTTE remnants who are continuing to operate in southern India.
The NIA is tight-lipped about the contents of the chargesheet. However, NIA sources said the arrested suspects had allegedly told the agency that they were working to strengthen and re-arm the LTTE and wage war against Sri Lanka.
“Refer to the releases issued by us in March this year and the contents are self explanatory,” said a senior security official in the NIA.
“Refer to the releases issued by us in March this year and the contents are self explanatory,” said a senior security official in the NIA.
An agency official said that Tamil Nadu state remained a safe haven for the LTTE elements because of the support extended by organisations that were nurtured by the LTTE.
On March 18 this year, a NIA statement said it arrested 19 crew members of three fishing boats which were carrying 300 kg of high-grade heroin worth Rs 3000 crore and five AK-47 rifles with 1,000 live rounds off. They were arrested near Minicoy islands in the Arabian Sea.
Earlier, on March 5, in a joint operation, the Indian Coast Guard’s ships and aircraft had taken into custody Akshara Duwa, a Sri Lankan fishing boat with six crew members off Minicoy islands, a part of the Lakshadweep islands. The crew members later told the Coast Guard officials that 200kg of heroin and 60kg of hashish had been jettisoned at sea when they were surrounded by the security vessels. In November 2020, Indian Coast Guard ships seized Shenaya Duwa, another Sri Lankan vessel off Kanyakumari coast with 120kg of narcotics worth Rs 1,000 crore and five advanced weapons.
NIA investigations proved that the weapons and narcotics were obtained from countries outside India and were on their way to the Indian coast for their onward journey to Sri Lanka. The NIA had later collected evidence about meetings held by the crew in Tamil Nadu.
The LTTE, banned in India as a terrorist organisation, has many front organisations in Tamil Nadu. Some politicians of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (MDMK) and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) openly declare their support for the LTTE.
In April, May and June this year, hundreds of activists of the ' S ave Lakshadweep Forum' staged demonstrations against the Central-Government appointed administrator of the archipelago. The Governor Praful Patel had taken steps to fortify the islands and ordered a massive security network along the coastline to keep track of the entry and exit of vessels to the islands. This was based on intelligence reports which had warned the civilian authorities of "unusual movements" around the islands that constitute the archipelago.