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Thursday, October 02, 2008 - 5.10 GMT |
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Discreet` crackdown on LTTE to prevent TN
emerging as hub |
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As the Sri Lankan army continue its
offensive deep into LTTE strongholds in the
island nation's north, Tamil Nadu police
have effectively "strangulated" the Tigers'
logistical routes by "discreetly" clamping
down on members of its logistics module to
prevent the state from emerging as their
"procurement hub".
According to a report in Zee News website
some of the top-rung members of the LTTE's
procurement module who had come to Chennai
recently have been arrested and imprisoned
by the Tamil Nadu police.
"This effort is going on in a discreet way
and we have indeed stepped up our efforts
against the organisation, which looks to
procure material from Tamil Nadu, especially
Chennai," quoting a top police official the
website.
Arrests of these men have not been reported
in the media since police did not want to
disclose details, he said. "Increased vigil
on Rameswaram coast as well as in Chennai
have resulted in more Tigers being nabbed
and we are also keeping a close watch on the
different refugee camps," the official said.
"A member of the LTTE is monitored from the
moment he lands on Indian soil and is
unaware that he is being tracked by the
police. We allow him to wander for a while
before catching him red-handed with the
material as well as his contacts," they
said.
The arrests include some senior members of
the module.
One accused, Thambi Annan, was nabbed after
police followed him for a month to bust his
contacts and recovered from him aluminum
ingots and ball bearings, they said.
The crackdown has been intensified as the
Tamil Tigers were locked in a battle to save
their last strongholds in northern Sri
Lanka.
In fact, more than 50 members of LTTE have
been arrested since 2006, with a large
number of them fleeing to Tamil Nadu in 2008
due to the "increased vigil" in Sri Lanka.
Besides Thambi Annan, who reportedly landed
in Chennai to "identify" new suppliers, LTTE
cadres have been arrested in other parts of
the state also, such as Madurai and
Rameswaram.
The sources said in one of the biggest
catches in recent times, the banned outfit's
intelligence member, Thambidurai
Parameswaran alias Suruli and 10 of his
associates were nabbed from suburban
Madipakkam, with police's 'Q' branch
recovering iron balls, two-wheelers and
spare parts of motorboats from them.
Suruli was reportedly entrusted with the
duty of gathering information on the
movement of EPRLF leader Varadaraja Perumal
and Minister Douglas Devananda.
Two others, K. Uma Ramanan and A. Amalan,
were arrested in Chennai two months back,
and police recovered unspecified amount of
ammonium nitrate, cables and detonators,
smuggled allegedly for bomb-making.
Besides, Selvam alias Selvakumar was
arrested in Chennai and police found in his
possession, electronic and telecommunication
equipment such as cellphone starters and
nano stations among others.
While the coastal areas are under constant
vigil, refugee camps are also being
monitored.
Police have cracked down regularly on
various procurement modules of the
organisation, thus forcing them rethink
their strategy on procurement, official
sources said.
"We will ensure Tamil Nadu does not become a
hub of their procurement," one official
said.
Recent reports suggest that the LTTE has
shifted its base to Kerala following strict
security measures in Tamil Nadu.
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