EIGHT LTTE CADRES CAUGHT WITH WEAPONS IN CORDON AND SEARCH OPERATIONS IN BATTICALOA; SUSPECTS TO BE PRODUCED IN COURTS
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
July 16.03.40 AM:The Police in Batticaloa with the help of the Sri Lanka Army were able to arrest eight LTTE cadres who entered the Sri Lanka government controlled area with military weapons contravening the Ceasefire agreement, Police sources said
The military weapons and explosives were carried in a Batticaloa bound LTTE van suspected to be used in the Sri Lanka controlled area the Police said.
The armed violators of the Ceasefire Agreement were arrested at the Kallady Bridge at Batticaloa , the same sources said.
Under the ceasefire agreement the LTTE cadres could enter the Sri Lanka government controlled area for political work but cannot be armed. It has been alleged the political workers were entering Sri Lanka government controlled areas for political violence. It was alleged that Sergeant Thevasooriyan of the 19th National Regiment was assassinated by a deputy political leader of the LTTE. The Batticaloa political workers of the LTTE even entered the Batticaloa Prisons fully armed for a jail break but the Ranil Wickremesinghe government out of embarrassment censored that news from the press.
The joint police and army investigators, July 14, at 10.00 p.m. stopped a vehicle at Kallady Bridge and found six LTTE cadres armed with military weapons and explosives the sources said.
The Police detected four hand grenades, ninety rounds T56 ammunition , ten 9mm pistol rounds, two T56 magazines, one belt order, one pouch, two field dressings, and several other items concealed in the vehicle, the police said. Four male cadres and four female cadres of the LTTE were traveling in the blue colored Toyota cab with a license plate of 251-2655. Since the passengers resisted arrest and identified themselves as cadres of the LTTE the Police and Army guarding the roadblock at Kallady had call the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, the Police said.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission members were immediately called to witness the armed group. Thereafter, the LTTE inmates of the vehicle, the vehicle and the arms were taken to Kathankudy Police station., about eight kilometers South from Batticaloa.
Police said the LTTE cadres will be produced at the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court for possessing offensive weapons.
Police said the LTTE cadres will be produced at the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court for possessing offensive weapons.
The LTTE and the Tamil National Alliance led by MP Joseph Pararajasingham were protesting against the cordon and search operations.
The LTTE cadres arrested with weapons and explosives were: KADIRASAI PILLAI RAJIDE KUMAR alias RAJISAN (18) (LTTE no. 4128), SRIDARAN SUDAKARAN alias KANNAN (18), GOPALASINGHAM DAYANANDAN alias NANDAN (18), THIYAGARASA MURALIDARAN alias KANTALAN (17) (LTTE no. 3777), SIVANADAN THIRUMANJU alias THAMILBASE (21) (LTTE no. 5263), NAVARATNAM PRANEETHA MALAR alias TERIKONDAI (25) (LTTE no. 58811), NAVARATNAM MANJULA alias THILAKAWADEE (19), VINAYAGAMURTHI SHAMILA alias SUWARIVIL (21) .
