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| Sunday, 5 June 2005 |
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Was Maj. Muthaliff trailed? : Weapon holds key to murder Crime Sunday by Jaympathy Jayasinghe Did the murderer and his accomplice follow Major T. Nizam Mutaliff, for some time so as to monitor his movements before they finally caught up with him at the Polhengoda traffic lights? The assassin fired a volley of shots at Major Muthaliff while he was seated in the rear seat of the car last Tuesday. Investigators are now probing whether he has been followed daily from his residence at Manning Town, Narahenpita to the Kotalawela Defence Academy, where Major Muthaliff was supposed to be undergoing a course in computer science. Army sources blame the LTTE for the killing. The assassins had meticulously executed the brutal killing with precision and managed to get away. Major Muthaliff being the Commanding Officer of the Army Intelligence Corp 1, was fully aware of the risks involved in cloak and dagger operations especially at a time when security forces were battling the Northern insurgency during the past two decades. There were several attempts on his life while serving in Vavuniya and Jaffna. Five years ago two LTTE pistol gang members were captured following an attempt by them to shoot him in Vavuniya. A suicide bomber who attempted to blast himself in his presence was also captured in Jaffna. Major Muthaliff never donned the uniform being in the Intelligence Corp. He used to travel about incognito considering the secretive nature of his duties to avoid being recognised. He had a knack of hobnobbing with people of all walks of life and cultivated a net of informants among the LTTE ranks who often fed him with vital information. Often he disguised himself and penetrated into LTTE held areas to meet his informants when they were unable to meet him. Through informants he knew well the routes that were planted with claymore mines and avoided such routes. When the war was at its height during the "Balavegaya" and the "Jayasikuru" operations, informants loyal to Major Muthaliff fed him with valuable information where LTTE camps were located. The information was so credible, that the Air-Force successfully bombed these targets with accuracy. He also tipped the Sri Lanka Navy regarding the movements of suspected rogue ships bringing military hardware to LTTE held territory. It is even said the information supplied by him led to the arrest of the elusive JVP leader, Rohana Wijeweera from his hide out at Ulapane. Major Muthaliff was a mastermind who was able to indoctrinate captured LTTE cadres. He never tortured or harmed them but released then into their areas and got them to furnish information regarding LTTE activities. He was able to gather information relating to service personnel taken in by the LTTE when they overran Poonaryn, Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass Army Camps. He even had prior information regarding the impending attacks on Kanakarayankulam and Mankulam Army Camps which he conveyed to the military top brass. The LTTE attack on Weli-Oya Janakpura Army Camp was also thwarted when he briefed Major General Janaka Perera that the LTTE cadres were closing in. The army provide him with an unmarked vehicle chauffeured by a civilian driver. The most intriguing thing is why Maj. Muthaliff decided to go to the Kotalawela Defence Academy without an armed escort on that fateful day. By any chance was his escort withdrawn for any particular reason on this day. Or did he purposely go without the escort, with the idea of not attracting undue attention? The Director, Colombo Crime Division (CCD) SSP, Sarath Lugoda who arrived the scene of murder at Vijaya Kumaratunga Mawatha, Polhengoda found 12 spent bullet casings. Lugoda was of the opinion that the spent bullet casings were not similar to that of T-56 or the 9 mm. found at the scene of the murder. The assassin would have used a sophisticated powerful weapon to kill him. Only ballistic experts at the Government Analyst Department would be able to pin point the type of weapon used. Investigators probing the incident will have to determine the type of weapon used that would shed more light on the killing. |
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