Pathmanathan Arrest : 2nd Lead
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India wants Tamil Tiger
BangkokPost.com, from agency reports India has indicated it wants the Thai government to extradite a top Tamil Tiger member believed to have financed the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
One of the top LTTE terrorists, Kumaran Padmanathan alias KP, was reportedly arrested in Bangkok after information provided by the government of Sri Lanka, Interpol and other agencies.
According to reports in the Indian media this morning, the Central Bureau of Investigation has sought his immediate extradition from Thailand.
Police have not yet confirmed or even commented on the reported arrest of the Tamil Tiger official.
Soon after Padmanathan's reported arrest on Monday, the CBI approached the Thai government, the Indian media report, citing unnamed sources in the agency.
Padmanathan, also known as Shanmugan Kumaran Tharmalingham, was based in Thailand and Cambodia and controlled a global network that supplied weapons to the Tamil Tigers. CBI believes his extradition could help unravel the conspiracy behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
The problem is, Sri Lanka is also keen to lay its hands on Padmanathan. According to the Indian media, while the Indian mission in Bangkok has confirmed that the person detained by Thai authorities is KP, CBI's effort to secure his extradition has run into resistance from Sri Lanka.
KP would be a prize catch for Sri Lanka, desperate to quell the Tamil insurgency which has haemorrhaged it for decades. KP did not figure in the charges CBI filed in the Rajiv assassination case because the agency did not find specific evidence linking him to the conspiracy.
D.R. Karthikeyan who headed CBI's Special Investigation Team into the case suggested on a TV news show on Wednesday that KP could have had a hand in arranging explosives which the suicide bomber, Dhanu, used to kill the former prime minister.
However, he was mentioned in another report, the Jain Commission, which looked at the larger conspiracy leading to the killing of Rajiv Gandhi while he was campaigning at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu for the 1991 Lok Sabha (Lower House) polls. The commission identified certain points which, it held, needed to be probed further.
That Jain Commission described Padmanathan this way in its 1998 report:
"[T]he chief arms procurer for the LTTE since long. He is also in charge of collection of finances for the LTTE outside Sir Lanka. The fleet of ships owned by LTTE also carry out its operations between different parts of the world under his supervision — he maintains offices and bank accounts in different parts of the world."
Gandhi, then 46, was killed by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber, who hid the bomb in her basket of flowers. At least 14 other people were also killed in the attack in the town of Sriperumbudur, about 30 miles from Madras, the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Rajiv Gandhi's death shocked the world and marked the end of the Nehru dynasty that had led India for all but five years after independence from Britain. He became prime minister after his mother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
The Tamil Tigers - official name Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - have never claimed responsibility for the murder.
CBI officials gave details of the case pending against Padmanathan, who reportedly has gained Thai nationality, and sought its assistance in handing him over to face trial in India.
Padmanathan has been declared one of the most wanted terrorists by Interpol as he is suspected to be a key person in LTTE's global network for procuring weapons and other equipment.
Jane's Defence Intelligence Review, the premier London- based defence magazine, recently reported that the LTTE had two international wings - KP Department and Aiyanna Group - that are engaged in global terrorist activities.
BangkokPost.com, from agency reports India has indicated it wants the Thai government to extradite a top Tamil Tiger member believed to have financed the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
One of the top LTTE terrorists, Kumaran Padmanathan alias KP, was reportedly arrested in Bangkok after information provided by the government of Sri Lanka, Interpol and other agencies.
According to reports in the Indian media this morning, the Central Bureau of Investigation has sought his immediate extradition from Thailand.
Police have not yet confirmed or even commented on the reported arrest of the Tamil Tiger official.
Soon after Padmanathan's reported arrest on Monday, the CBI approached the Thai government, the Indian media report, citing unnamed sources in the agency.
Padmanathan, also known as Shanmugan Kumaran Tharmalingham, was based in Thailand and Cambodia and controlled a global network that supplied weapons to the Tamil Tigers. CBI believes his extradition could help unravel the conspiracy behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
The problem is, Sri Lanka is also keen to lay its hands on Padmanathan. According to the Indian media, while the Indian mission in Bangkok has confirmed that the person detained by Thai authorities is KP, CBI's effort to secure his extradition has run into resistance from Sri Lanka.
KP would be a prize catch for Sri Lanka, desperate to quell the Tamil insurgency which has haemorrhaged it for decades. KP did not figure in the charges CBI filed in the Rajiv assassination case because the agency did not find specific evidence linking him to the conspiracy.
D.R. Karthikeyan who headed CBI's Special Investigation Team into the case suggested on a TV news show on Wednesday that KP could have had a hand in arranging explosives which the suicide bomber, Dhanu, used to kill the former prime minister.
However, he was mentioned in another report, the Jain Commission, which looked at the larger conspiracy leading to the killing of Rajiv Gandhi while he was campaigning at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu for the 1991 Lok Sabha (Lower House) polls. The commission identified certain points which, it held, needed to be probed further.
That Jain Commission described Padmanathan this way in its 1998 report:
"[T]he chief arms procurer for the LTTE since long. He is also in charge of collection of finances for the LTTE outside Sir Lanka. The fleet of ships owned by LTTE also carry out its operations between different parts of the world under his supervision — he maintains offices and bank accounts in different parts of the world."
Gandhi, then 46, was killed by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber, who hid the bomb in her basket of flowers. At least 14 other people were also killed in the attack in the town of Sriperumbudur, about 30 miles from Madras, the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Rajiv Gandhi's death shocked the world and marked the end of the Nehru dynasty that had led India for all but five years after independence from Britain. He became prime minister after his mother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
The Tamil Tigers - official name Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - have never claimed responsibility for the murder.
CBI officials gave details of the case pending against Padmanathan, who reportedly has gained Thai nationality, and sought its assistance in handing him over to face trial in India.
Padmanathan has been declared one of the most wanted terrorists by Interpol as he is suspected to be a key person in LTTE's global network for procuring weapons and other equipment.
Jane's Defence Intelligence Review, the premier London- based defence magazine, recently reported that the LTTE had two international wings - KP Department and Aiyanna Group - that are engaged in global terrorist activities.
புலிகளின் முக்கிய உறுப்பினர் பத்தமநாதன் கைது செய்யப்படதை தாய்லாந்து மறுத்துள்ளது
வீரகேசரி இணையம்
தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் முக்கிய உறுப்பினரும், அதன் சர்வதேச ஆயுதக் கொள்வனவு முகவருமான குமரன் பத்மநாதனை கைது செய்யவில்லை என தாய்லாந்து அரசாங்கம் நேற்று செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை தெரிவித்துள்ளதாக டெய்லி மிரர் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் முக்கிய பிரமுகரும், அதன் வெளிநாட்டு ஆயுத முகவராக 20 வருடங்களுக்கு மேலாக செயற்பட்டவருமான கே.பி என்று அழைக்கப்படும் குமரன் பத்மநாதன் பாங்கொக்கில் கைது செய்யப்படவில்லை.
குடிவரவு, குடியகல்வு திணைக்கள அறிக்கைகளின் படி கடந்த இரு வருடங்களிற்குள் அவர் தாய்லாந்திற்குள் நுழைந்ததற்கான தகவல்கள் எதுவும் இல்லை. அத்துடன் கடந்த மூன்று அல்லது நான்கு நாட்களுக்குள் இலங்கையைச் சேர்ந்த எவரையும் தாம் கைது செய்யவில்லை.அவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டது தொடர்பில் பங்கொக்கில் உள்ள இலங்கை தூதரகத்திலும் தகவல்கள் இல்லை என தாய் இன்ர போல் உயர் அதிகாரியான கேர்னல் அபிசார்ட் சூரிபுனியா ஏபி செய்திச் சேவைக்கு தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.அதேவேளை பத்தமநாதனை இலங்கைக்கு நாடு கடத்துமாறு கோரி இலங்கை அரசாங்கத் தரப்பு தாய்லாந்து காவல்துறையினரை நாடியுள்ளதாக வெளிவந்த தகவல்களையும் அவர் மறுத்துள்ளதாக என டெய்லி மிரர் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் முக்கிய பிரமுகரும், அதன் வெளிநாட்டு ஆயுத முகவராக 20 வருடங்களுக்கு மேலாக செயற்பட்டவருமான கே.பி என்று அழைக்கப்படும் குமரன் பத்மநாதன் பாங்கொக்கில் கைது செய்யப்படவில்லை.
குடிவரவு, குடியகல்வு திணைக்கள அறிக்கைகளின் படி கடந்த இரு வருடங்களிற்குள் அவர் தாய்லாந்திற்குள் நுழைந்ததற்கான தகவல்கள் எதுவும் இல்லை. அத்துடன் கடந்த மூன்று அல்லது நான்கு நாட்களுக்குள் இலங்கையைச் சேர்ந்த எவரையும் தாம் கைது செய்யவில்லை.அவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டது தொடர்பில் பங்கொக்கில் உள்ள இலங்கை தூதரகத்திலும் தகவல்கள் இல்லை என தாய் இன்ர போல் உயர் அதிகாரியான கேர்னல் அபிசார்ட் சூரிபுனியா ஏபி செய்திச் சேவைக்கு தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.அதேவேளை பத்தமநாதனை இலங்கைக்கு நாடு கடத்துமாறு கோரி இலங்கை அரசாங்கத் தரப்பு தாய்லாந்து காவல்துறையினரை நாடியுள்ளதாக வெளிவந்த தகவல்களையும் அவர் மறுத்துள்ளதாக என டெய்லி மிரர் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
Thailand denies arrest of Tiger kingpin
Thailand yesterday denied claims that a senior Tamil Tiger rebel leader, who allegedly led the group's international arms procurement network in its two-decade fight against Sri Lankan forces was arrested in Bangkok, Associated Press reported yesterday. ''According to immigration records for the past two years, there is no record of him entering the country,'' Thai Interpol Chief Col. Apichart Suribunya, told AP, adding that there had been no arrests of Sri Lankans in the past three to four days.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Bangkok also had no knowledge of the arrest, he said. Apichart also rejected a report that authorities in Colombo had contacted Thai police regarding the suspect's extradition.
''Reliable sources from Thailand reveal that LTTE's chief for cross-border terrorist activities, Kumaran Padmanadan, alias 'KP' has been arrested in Bangkok on Sept. 10,'' the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry said on its website. ''Padmanadan is one of the most wanted terrorists by the International Police (Interpol) who has been running the global procurement network of the LTTE terrorists,'' it said.
Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry, citing local defense intelligence sources, said Padmanadan's division was the rebels' oldest international wing and was concerned with ''procurement.''
In a report in August, the London-based Jane's Intelligence Review said the Tamil Tigers used a worldwide network of fake charities and a sophisticated smuggling operation to raise up to US$300 million (euro217 million) a year to fund their separatist battle.
The report said the Tigers' fundraising prowess enabled the group to develop ''one of the most sophisticated insurgencies in the world,'' which includes an army, navy and even a primitive air force of a few light aircraft.
Kumaran Padmanathan is a key accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Soon after Padmanathan's arrest on Monday, the CBI in Delhi approached the Thai government, giving details of the case pending against him, and sought its assistance in handing him over to face trial in India, sources in the agency said.
Meanwhile Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona was quoted on the Hindustan Times newspaper as saying the government was still awaiting official confirmation from Thailand over reports of the Tiger frontman's arrest.
Top LTTE man held in Bangkok
B. Muralidhar Reddy -The Hindu
Pathmanathan was a key arms procurer
COLOMBO: Kumaran Pathmanathan, considered to be the chief of the LTTE’s overseas arms procurement, was arrested by the Thailand police in Bangkok on Monday evening, according to the online edition of Bangkok Post.
Sri Lanka Foreign Secretary Palitha T.B. Kohona told The Hindu that Colombo confirmed the information of the arrest “from other sources” though there was no official communication yet from Thailand. “We have confir med the news about the arrest of Kumaran Pathmanathan, referred to as KP, from other sources. Once his identity is established beyond doubt, the government of Sri Lanka will seek his formal extradition.”
The Sri Lanka Defence Ministry, in a report on the arrest, quoting intelligence sources claimed that LTTE wings were operating in a “mutually supportive manner” with other terror organisations. Jane’s Defence Weekly, in a recently released special report on the LTTE, identified KP as a key operator of the organisation with the mandate to raise finances and procure arms.
The Bangkok Post maintained that Mr. Pathmanathan apparently obtained Thai citizenship and continued to run the global network of LTTE offices and its weapon procurement, logistics and money laundering operations.
“He has been on Interpol’s Most Wanted list for a number of years. He has also been implicated in several assassinations of political leaders,” the report said.
It quoted the online newspaper Asian Tribune describing him as “the kingpin of Tiger arms smuggling,” who “is a noted smuggler of arms and narcotics. Operating with bank accounts opened in London, Frankfurt, Denmar k, Athens and Australia ... he has had a free run so far.”
According to the paper, KP’s arrest followed the detention of three Tamil Tiger operatives in Ranong province last month trying to buy guns and 45,000 rounds of ammunition. All four were suspected of running a Tiger gun-running ring centred in Thailand.
Subject of manhunt
“Pathmanathan, who also had a number of aliases, has recently been the subject of a manhunt that stretched to Johannesburg, Yangon, Singapore and Bangkok. Police said they believed he had bank accounts in London, Frankfurt Denmark, Athens and Australia and had over 200 passports.
“He and his group are suspected of running weapons purchased in Thailand and neighbouring countries to the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. The Tigers have been designated as a terrorist group by most western countries, but not Thailand,” the paper said.
B. Muralidhar Reddy -The Hindu
Pathmanathan was a key arms procurer
COLOMBO: Kumaran Pathmanathan, considered to be the chief of the LTTE’s overseas arms procurement, was arrested by the Thailand police in Bangkok on Monday evening, according to the online edition of Bangkok Post.
Sri Lanka Foreign Secretary Palitha T.B. Kohona told The Hindu that Colombo confirmed the information of the arrest “from other sources” though there was no official communication yet from Thailand. “We have confir med the news about the arrest of Kumaran Pathmanathan, referred to as KP, from other sources. Once his identity is established beyond doubt, the government of Sri Lanka will seek his formal extradition.”
The Sri Lanka Defence Ministry, in a report on the arrest, quoting intelligence sources claimed that LTTE wings were operating in a “mutually supportive manner” with other terror organisations. Jane’s Defence Weekly, in a recently released special report on the LTTE, identified KP as a key operator of the organisation with the mandate to raise finances and procure arms.
The Bangkok Post maintained that Mr. Pathmanathan apparently obtained Thai citizenship and continued to run the global network of LTTE offices and its weapon procurement, logistics and money laundering operations.
“He has been on Interpol’s Most Wanted list for a number of years. He has also been implicated in several assassinations of political leaders,” the report said.
It quoted the online newspaper Asian Tribune describing him as “the kingpin of Tiger arms smuggling,” who “is a noted smuggler of arms and narcotics. Operating with bank accounts opened in London, Frankfurt, Denmar k, Athens and Australia ... he has had a free run so far.”
According to the paper, KP’s arrest followed the detention of three Tamil Tiger operatives in Ranong province last month trying to buy guns and 45,000 rounds of ammunition. All four were suspected of running a Tiger gun-running ring centred in Thailand.
Subject of manhunt
“Pathmanathan, who also had a number of aliases, has recently been the subject of a manhunt that stretched to Johannesburg, Yangon, Singapore and Bangkok. Police said they believed he had bank accounts in London, Frankfurt Denmark, Athens and Australia and had over 200 passports.
“He and his group are suspected of running weapons purchased in Thailand and neighbouring countries to the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. The Tigers have been designated as a terrorist group by most western countries, but not Thailand,” the paper said.
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