By T.S.V. Hari, IANS
Chennai : The arrests of a Tamil Tiger and four others in Tamil Nadu have fuelled worries that the Sri Lankan rebels may again be getting active in the sprawling Indian state.
Police say that the five were apprehended in recent days on charges of transporting explosives and fuel to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) across the narrow sea dividing Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
The police Q Branch – which deals with seditious activities — revealed Wednesday that it arrested Satheeswaran, 31, Monday as he was about to depart to Sri Lanka from the port town of Rameshwaram.
Police sources indicated that the accused was one of the mainstays of the banned outfit’s clandestine network in Tamil Nadu responsible for procuring explosive substances, fuel and medicines.
Q Branch officials are trying to find out if Satheeswaran is connected to the earlier seizure near Rameshwaram of 3,200 detonators, 21 gelatine sticks as well as fuse wire.
Director General of Police P. Rajendran said that all groups and individuals supporting outlawed groups would be rounded up and jailed. Although the LTTE was not named, it was clear his ire was directed against the group.
Rajendran’s comments in a statement came a day after LTTE chief Veluppillai Prabhakaran underlined the need for Tamils the world over to cement his group’s separatist cause.
Satheeswaran’s arrest followed the interrogation of three Indians and a Sri Lankan, Nakulan, arrested earlier in Ramanathapuram district.
The police had seized 50 bags of substances like potassium chlorate and sulphur that are used to make explosives. The accused confessed that the materials were meant for Satheeswaran.
Three mobile phones and a handbook on bomb making seized during the arrest of Satheeswaran indicated that he is a hardcore militant, the police said. Besides, his body bore scars from bullet injuries.
The police sources said the accused was being interrogated and they hoped to find others linked to him.
In the last 14 months, there have been 11 such seizures. Dozens have been arrested. Seized materials include ball bearings and other items used in land mines and claymore mines, along with explosives.
Meanwhile, authorities have also detained four refugees who recently arrived from Sri Lanka and landed on the Rameshwaram coast following suspicion that they were LTTE cadres.
They reportedly told Indian officials that they had deserted the organisation as they had been forced to join the Tigers.
The four have been placed in protective custody in a special camp meant for Tamil militants.