NIA digs deeper as Pakistan looks to help revival of LTTE in Tamil Nadu

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The
agencies
learnt
that
money
lying
in
the
accounts
linked
to
the
LTTE
remained
untouched
for
long,
but
now
attempts
are
being
made
to
withdraw
the
same
and
use
it
for
the
revival
of
the
outfit.

New
Delhi,
Aug
09:
The
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
last
week
conducted
searches
at
the
residence
of
one
C
Gunashekaran
at
Chengalpattu
district
in
Tamil
Nadu.

The
NIA
said
in
a
note
that
the
case
on
hand
pertains
to
the
Sri
Lankan
drug
mafia.
The
said
mafia
is
controlled
by
Gunashekaran
who
in
association
with
Haji
Salim,
an
arms
and
drugs
supplier
based
in
Pakistan,
has
been
operating
in
India
and
Sri
Lanka.

The
agency
further
pointed
out
that
these
operatives
are
dealing
in
illegal
drugs
and
arms
for
the
revival
of
the
LTTE
in
India
and
Sri
Lanka.

A
high
alert
had
been
sounded
in
February
this
year
after
the
Intelligence
Bureau
warned
that
attempts
were
being
made
to
revive
the
LTTE.
This
was
also
followed
by
a
case
by
the
NIA
which
booked
three
people
in
connection
with
a
fake
passport
case.

NIA
busts
plan
to
revive
the
LTTE
and
link
it
to
Tamil
nationalism

An
Intelligence
Bureau
official
tells
OneIndia
that
attempts
to
revive
the
LTTE
are
being
made
with
the
help
of
Pakistan-based
operatives.
Pakistan
has
in
the
past
used
its
High
Commission
in
Sri
Lanka
to
spread
the
activities
of
the
ISI
in
south
India.
This
module
was,
however,
busted
by
the
NIA,
following
which
they
are
using
the
turmoil
in
Sri
Lanka
to
revive
an
LTTE
module
which
could
cause
trouble
both
in
the
island
nation
as
well
as
south
India.

The
NIA
also
found
that
some
of
the
former
operatives
of
the
LTTE
based
in
Europe
were
trying
to
withdraw
money
and
use
it
to
revive
the
outfit.
Former
operatives
based
out
of
Denmark
and
Switzerland
were
trying
to
withdraw
money
to
fund
the
activities
of
the
now
defunct
outfit.
Sources
say
that
in
the
past
couple
of
years,
these
former
operatives
had
funded
webinars
to
speak
about
the
importance
of
the
revival
of
the
LTTE.
The
targeted
public
are
in
the
rural
areas
of
Tamil
Nadu
and
these
NGOs
arranging
these
webinars
had
tried
to
convince
the
people
that
the
rise
of
the
LTTE
is
directly
linked
to
Tamil
nationalism.

During
the
probe,
the
agencies
learnt
that
the
money
lying
in
the
accounts
linked
to
the
LTTE
went
into
several
crores
of
rupees.
It
remain
untouched
for
long,
but
now
attempts
are
being
made
to
withdraw
the
same
and
use
it
for
the
revival
of
the
outfit.

The
case
came
to
light
following
the
arrest
of
a
Sri
Lankan
national,
Letchumanan
Mary
Franciska
(50)
from
the
Chennai
Airport.
The
police
said
that
the
arrest
was
made
as
she
was
holding
a
fake
Indian
passport.

NGOs
trying
to
revive
LTTE
linking
it
to
Tamil
nationalism

However
over
the
past
two
to
three
years
there
have
been
signals
of
them
trying
to
make
a
revival.

They
are
trying
to
make
their
case
in
Tamil
Nadu
and
spread
their
message
especially
under
the
youth.
The
LTTE
feels
that
they
will
be
able
to
get
the
desired
traction
in
Tamil
Nadu
which
they
may
use
to
relaunch
their
outfit
in
Sri
Lanka.