Intelligence units on high alert:

Three wanted suspects at large:

Signs of LTTE regrouping in North and East

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

While the Government and its diplomatic wing is effectively handling the recently passed UN resolution against the country, security intelligence units have been ordered to be on high alert against a potential threat of the LTTE regrouping in the North and the East following a series of events that have taken place during the last few weeks.

The security forces cleaned the least potential terrorist element from the soils of the North and East almost five years ago, making it a safe place for civilians are once again faced with a grave responsibility of maintaining that security with certain incidents reported showing signs of regrouping of the almost eliminated terror outfit.

This came to light with Police Headquarters publicising descriptions and photographs of three absconding high profile LTTE members last week with a reward of one million rupees for successful information relating to their arrest. They were identified as Gopi, Appan and Thevian.

Kajeepan Ponniah Selvanayagam alias Kasian alias Gopi is a 31-year-old six foot cadre with a dark complexion and a scar on his upper lip. According to police Gopi is known to be one of the remaining aides of the LTTE intelligence wing chief Shanmugalingam Sivashankar alias Pottu Amman. The police decided to publicise Gopi's details, who was already in the most wanted list, with a price on his head when he was confronted by a group of Police Terrorist Intelligence Division (TID) officials went to search a house in Dharmapuram in Kilinochchi District a few weeks ago.

Amidst credible information collected from ground level that a series of events taking place throughout the past months showing signs of regrouping was confirmed, with the arrest of two individuals pasting anti-government posters in Pallai in the Jaffna District several weeks ago. The duo who were reportedly from Silawathura area were pasting posters condemning the government asking for a Geneva intervention in the alleged human rights violations in the country. Having interrogated them the police learnt that they were instructed to carry out the job by a man called Gopi. A remaining LTTE operative who is secretly engaged in regrouping and reorganising atrocities. By then the intelligence agencies have recovered more information about this individual who is reported to have buried a cache of ammunitions in an unknown location in the remote North.

They also learnt that Gopi was assisted by another cadre identified as Appan. Navaratnam Navaneedan alias Appan is a 36-year-old LTTE cadre with a height of 5’ 2” and a brown complexion. Credible information revealed that Gopi and Appan were reportedly leading the regrouping program of the terrorist outfit in the North.

The TID having received information of a house suspected to be of sheltering Appan in Dharmapuram went on a search mission a few weeks ago. When the sleuths went inside the house to search an armed man hiding under a bed had fired several rounds at the approaching officials and fled the scene. Sub Inspector Ratnakumara who was among the search party received injuries after being shot in the leg. The suspect fled in the melee was identified as Gopi, whom the TID was looking for. Although there was insufficient information leading to prove the presence of Appan at the time of the confrontation, the police took the woman who was in charge of the house into custody along with her daughter.

The arrested woman has been identified as Balendran Jeyakumari who was reportedly having a close relationship with Appan. Although she was not married to Appan, she had been facilitating accommodation to him. When the police questioned Jeyakumari they learnt that Appan was visiting her house intermittently. They also found records of a number of overseas calls on her mobile phone in the recent past, which the police suspect them to be of calls between the members of the LTTE international diaspora who have a vested interest in sending funds through local money transferring facilities.

Arrest and detention of Balendran Jeyakumari and her daughter caused an uproar in the international arena after it was reported to the UN sessions in Geneva by TNA Northern Provincial Councillor Ananthi Sasitharan.

The Provincial Councillor complained that the Government is violating human rights by arresting an under-aged child. Sri Lanka issuing a statement in response to the accusations levelled by certain member countries stated that “interested parties were attempting to stigmatise the action of the authorities as an infringement when they were only carrying out their duties for the purpose of national security”.

Although Jeyakumari is reportedly being detained at the Boossa Detention Centre under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, her daughter has been transferred to a childcare and probation home as no legal guardian came forward as her custodian.

Also the arrest and detention of human rights activists Father Praveen and Ruki Fernando couple of weeks ago attracted much attention from the international arena again complaining the Sri Lankan government is violating the rights of its people. Intelligence agencies had to arrest the activists who were visiting the houses of Jeyakumari and Gopi in Dharmapuram and Kilinochchi as it provided sufficient need for an investigation to be launched into the nature of their involvement with the suspects wanted by the police.

The duo were however released following the due judicial process. The police charge that the activists were sent on a mission to study and report the situation following the Dharmapuram incident by the interested parties in Switzerland.

According to intelligence agencies the first signs of resurrection of the terror outfit was observed in 2012 where a Tamil national was killed in Kuchchaweli in Trincomalee by another Tamil national who is reported to have arrived from South India. The victim who is reportedly an EPDP supporter was killed by the visitor as he was becoming a hindrance to certain regrouping operations being carried out in the area. This came to light when the police arrested the assailant and interrogated him. Also in 2013 several attempts by groups of Tamil male and female youths to engage in secret combat training sessions in Jaffna and in South India showed signs that the terror outfit was re-emerging from the ashes. And also the arrests of two women Kulasinham Puwaneshwarie and Rasa Malam, mother of Gopi in two separate instances have lead to the revelation of much information related to the suspects wanted by police.

Apart from Gopi and Appan the TID is also looking for another crucial operative by the name of Thevian. According to available information Thevian is a former Air Tiger and a senior member of the LTTE air wing.

The police believe that there is a high probability that the suspect along with the other two suspects are roaming in the North Eastern areas as well as in Colombo and suburbs. The TID has issued two hot lines 0112 451636 and 0112 321838 to anybody willing to pass any information about the existence of any of these three suspects.

And the agencies have once again intensified their espionage operations in the North and the East in preparedness of a potential regrouping of the terrorist organisation that disturbed the country's law and order for over three decades.