Indian Coast Guard seizes ‘Maria’, six Lankan Tamils

Lanka wants access to suspects

Allegedly involved in bloody Kanyakumari attack

Controversy over Tamil Nadu attempt to shield Tigers

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Six Sri Lankans apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard, off Tamil Nadu coast last Wednesday (11), are believed to be LTTE cadres involved in the recent attack on a multi-day fishing trawler launched from Kanyakumari.

Unidentified persons, travelling in two vessels, attacked the craft about 35 nautical miles southeast of Kanyakumari killing five fishermen on March 29.

The suspects were identified as Arul Gnanadasan (20), C. Robin (23), S. Selvakumar (19), M. Pannibose (28), D. Arul (19) and Ravi Kumar (24). Four of them were from LTTE-held Mullaitivu, an official said. Quoting Tamil Nadu police (‘Q’ branch), he said that the remaining suspects too, were from LTTE-held areas.

He speculated that the suspects could be lying. He emphasised the need for a joint Indo-Lanka investigation to establish their identity in the wake of a spate of incidents in the Indian waters involving the LTTE and the Tamil Nadu fishing community.

The Indian Coast Guard had spotted the group 26.5 nautical miles southeast of the Kanyakumari coast, in two Indian boats. The group — six Sri Lankan Tamils and six Indians - had tried to escape when a Coast Guard vessel signalled them to stop. The vessel was one of the nine ships and three maritime surveillance aircraft engaged in a special operation launched on April 9.

Initially, a section of the Chennai-based press identified the arrested persons as Sinhala fishermen.

They also claimed that they were armed at the time of their arrest. Dinakaran, affiliated to the ruling DMK, on a front-page report declared that 12 Sinhala fishermen were in custody.

Under interrogation the Indians had claimed that they rescued the Sri Lankans from a trawler named Maria which was found by the Indian Coast Guard drifting from the Kanyakumari coast. The two Indian boats, described as vallams, were found approximately 14 nautical miles away from Maria, the official said, pointing out that attackers on a trawler with a similar name carried out the March 29 attack. Sri Lanka believes that the Indians were associates of the Sri Lankan suspects who were trying to reach the Tamil Nadu coast as they were unable to return to Sri Lanka due to stepped up SLN patrols.

Although Tamil Nadu authorities cleared the six Sri Lankans of the March 29 attack, Sri Lankan officials believe that they were among the attackers. "Two trawlers were involved in that attack and the vessel captured last Wednesday is one," an intelligence official said. According to him, the vessel which had bullet marks could not have left Paruthithurai, Jaffna on March 14 as claimed by the arrested persons. Sri Lanka has prohibited the launch of multi-day fishing craft from Jaffna, Mannar and Mullaitivu, he said. "It could not have left Sri Lanka on a legitimate business," he said. He also challenged their claim that Indian fishermen came to their rescue after their boat developed engine trouble and strayed into Indian waters. According to the suspects, the Indians reached Maria after it started taking in water.

The Sri Lankan official said that the troubled vessel could have negotiated the narrow channel between the 4th and 5th sand banks or Pamban Pass (on the Indian side) if Maria’s engine broke down. Had they developed engine trouble after they negotiated the entry points, the vessel would have strayed towards Tuticorin and not Kanyakumari as claimed by interested parties.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi blamed the March 29 attack on an unidentified third party after Sri Lanka strongly challenged an attempt to blame it on the SLN.

The Sri Lankan military pointed out that this (detection made southeast of Kanyakumari) was not the first time Sri Lankans and Indian fishermen were arrested in suspicious circumstances. The arrest of three Sri Lankans (subsequently identified as LTTE cadres) along with two Indians off Kodiakarai on February 13 revealed the unholy alliance, an official said, adding that the occupants were armed at the time of their arrest. Their boat was subsequently blasted by Indian authorities claiming that the explosives-laden craft posed a serious security threat.

Sri Lankan officials said that they would like to question the suspects arrested on February 13 and April 11. The Island learns that Sri Lanka sought an opportunity to interview the suspects arrested on February 13. However, a visit to Tamil Nadu by a Sri Lankan security team is yet to materialise. Well informed sources said that Sri Lanka would seek to interview the Sri Lankans in Indian custody. The sources pointed out that if Tamil Nadu authorities believe that Sri Lankans arrested southeast of Kanyakumari were genuine fishermen, they should be repatriated to Sri Lanka with the involvement of the Deputy High Commissioner’s mission in Chennai.