The Ex intelligence army officer that was killed at Wellawatte 

The Ex intelligence army officer that was killed at Wellawatte 

Alleged killers of taxi driver remanded By M.W. Somaratne

Three suspects who were taken into custody at Rattota in Matale for allegedly killing a trishaw driver and throwing the body into a well before robbing his trishaw were remanded till October 26, police said.

The victim was identified as Kappidiyal Mohamad Ameer (27) a father of three children and a resident of Vavuniya. The suspects, Pathiranalage Priyantha Samarasekera, Maithripala and Gamini Dissanayake were arrested on a tip off and were produced before Matale chief Magistrate Siri Rajapakse.

Inquiries have revealed that on October 12 the suspects had hired the trishaw at Vavuniya and the driver had been later killed at Setikulam.

Norwegians not aware of govt. counter proposals by Sunimalee Dias

The Norwegian facilitators have conveyed to the LTTE that they are not aware of any counter proposal by the government and if there were any such proposals they could place them at the negotiating table.

This was communicated to the LTTE when Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim met LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham on Monday in London. Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattsker was also present at the meeting. When Balasingham questioned about media reports concerning the government’s alternative proposals, Solheim had replied saying that according to their knowledge there was no such proposals but the alternative proposals of the government might be placed on the negotiating table if there were any.

Commenting later Mr. Balasingham has said that Norway was optimistic that no alternative proposals would be given by the government before resuming peace talks.

During the meeting Norwegians had also briefed Balasingham of views held by Indian, US and Canadian governments regarding the peace process.

Prior to the meeting Norwegians have also briefed British Foreign Ministry officials about the meeting. Meanwhile, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen is expected in Colombo during the 1st week of November on the invitation of the President Chandrika Kumaratunga. He is also expected to meet the LTTE in Kilinochchi during his visit.

Soldier allegedly shoots herself by Kurulu Kariyakarawana

A 26-year-old female soldier attached to the Monkey Bridge army camp at China Bay in Trincomalee committed suicide by shooting herself on Tuesday night.

The victim a resident of Udapussellawa had been on duty with two other female soldiers at the second security post.

She had taken over the shift from midnight to 2.00 am while the rest had gone to sleep and had then shot herself in the chest with her T-56 weapon.

The victim was soon rushed to Trincomalee hospital but was found dead on admission.

China Bay Inspector Clement Fernando said the reason for the suicide was not known.

“Her past records have been normal and the only significant fact is that the victim had not taken her dinner on Tuesday night”, the OIC said.

The body of the soldier is at the Trincomalee hospital morgue awaiting the post mortem examination.

Political alliance formed to counter LTTE activities by Gagani Weerakoon

Several political parties and civil organizations have formed a coalition to act against the killings and abductions committed by the LTTE.

Sources said these groups who gathered in Colombo on Monday for the first time decided to take maximum action to combat killings and abductions of the LTTE as much as possible. “They will hold a general convention in Colombo at the end of this month to inform the general public on their mission,” sources said.

The coalition consists of political parties both from the northern as well as the southern part of the country. The Daily Mirror learns that Tamil political parties including the EPDP, EPRLF and PLOTE are also in this coalition. It was also reported that Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and another Muslim political party representatives also participated in the initial discussions..

Several civil organizations including the ‘Students for Human Right and the National University Teachers Association also had taken part in this meeting.

The parties gathered had unanimously agreed that the LTTE was taking full advantage of the ceasefire agreement and hold the monopoly of bearing arms limiting the free movement of their opponents. They had agreed “to take proper steps to prevent such killings and abductions LTTE would commit in future and to be united on any such occasion, he said.

How Veerappan was trapped

The forest brigand Veerappan and three of his key associates, who were killed in an encounter on Monday night, were lured out of their hideout by Special Task Force personnel who had finally managed to infiltrate the gang. An STF man, who had gained their confidence, drove Veerappan and his gang straight into the trap set up at Paparapatti village in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district.

Ex-captain shot dead by Senaka De Silva

An Army captain who had been dismissed from service for fraud, was shot dead in his vehicle at Melford Crescent in Dehiwala on Tuesday night.

The victim a resident of Nugegoda was identified as Javid Abdul Hakim (45) a father of three children. Inspector R.P. Senanayake said the ex-captain had involved in shady activities in the guise of carrying on business.

He is an accused in connection with two robberies at Pettah and Wellawatte. He had apparently gone to Dehiwala to keep an appointment when he was shot with a .38 calibre pistol. He had gunshot injuries on his chest and head. Police recovered six empty cartridges from the scene of the killing.

Police are conducting investigations to determine whether the killing was due to some business rivalry or to a family dispute or whether the victim had any underworld connections.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: The Additional Director-General of Police, K. Vijay Kumar, who heads the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force, is cheered by colleagues in Dharmapuri on Tuesday after the forest brigand Veerappan and three of his aides were shot dead in an operation the previous night.

The forest brigand Veerappan and three of his key associates, who were killed in an encounter on Monday night, were lured out of their hideout by Special Task Force personnel who had finally managed to infiltrate the gang. An STF man, who had gained their confidence, drove Veerappan and his gang straight into the trap set up at Paparapatti village in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district.

Tamil Nadu STF chief, Additional Director General of Police, K. Vijay Kumar, said `Operation Cocoon’ was the result of 10 months of planning and three weeks of meticulous preparation. But the operation lasted only 45 minutes from the time the gang got into the ambulance, which was actually an STF vehicle. Veerappan may have been on his way to get treatment for an eye ailment (cataract).

A 35-member team lay in wait at Paparapatti village. Some of the securitymen were hidden in a reinforced tanker lorry parked by the road; others had taken position atop a nearby school.

Mr. Vijay Kumar said that when challenged the gang initially did not respond. A second warning to surrender was greeted with gunfire. The STF retaliated with stun grenades and gunfire. Before this the driver of the ambulance, an STF operative, made good his escape as planned.

Veerappan died on the spot. His lieutenant, Sethukuzhi Govindan, Chandre Gowde, and the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA) extremist, Sethumani, who had joined the gang during recent abduction episodes, died on way to hospital.

The STF seized a non-ballistic 12 bore Remington pump action gun, which can spray bullets effectively for bush fighting, two AK-47s, a self-loading rifle (7.62) and two hand grenades. About Rs. 3.5 lakhs was also recovered.

The operation was the result of intelligence inputs the STF had got over a period, Mr. Vijay Kumar said. It had managed to plant four men in the Veerappan gang. They had settled in the villages on the fringes of the forest and won the confidence of the gang. Other STF men posed as taxi drivers, bus conductors, hawkers and masons and provided information crucial to the operation.

Intelligence inputs indicated that the brigand, who had an eye ailment, was trying to establish contact with persons in South Arcot and Perambalur districts, possibly for medical assistance and to add to his manpower.

These two districts form a belt of Tamil extremism. There were reports suggesting that the brigand was in a mood to leave the jungles to escape from the police net, an official added.

Destination unknown

However, Mr. Vijay Kumar said it was unclear where the brigand was heading. Further investigation by the STF and the police may throw light on any accomplices, facilitators or abettors.

Mr. Vijay Kumar said, “the absence of red-tapism and miscommunication” proved to be the advantage of the STF. “One aim, one goal and one mission of both the STFs led to the accomplishment of the task,” Mr. Vijay Kumar said.

After monitoring the movement of the brigand, the entire manpower was deployed in the area, thus “bringing the elusive fugitive into a tightly knit police net,” he said.

Asked whether there would be any DNA tests to confirm the identity of the bodies, Mr. Vijay Kumar said the intelligence sleuths had confirmed the identity. The gang was, unusually, not in camouflage clothing; Veerappan was in white, with the moustache trimmed to deceive the police, he said.

Mr. Vijay Kumar’s Karnataka counterpart, the IGP (STF), Jyoti Prakash Mirji; the IG (West Zone-Tamil Nadu), A. Subramanian and the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Salem Range, N. Tamizh Selvan, were present at the media event.

The operation was led by the ADGP himself, assisted by the Superintendents of Police, N.K. Senthamaraikannan (who masterminded the intelligence trap), K. Shanmugavelu and P. Chinnasamy.

The core team consisted of the Deputy Superintendents of Police, N. Thirunavukkarasu, and Hussain. Inspectors N. Rajarajan and Mohan Nawaz led the ambush team.

Praise for the boys

Mr. Vijay Kumar said that he “salutes and worships the valour and sincerity shown by the boys in accomplishing the mission.” The brigand was both physically and psychologically down, facing squabbles within the four-member group, he said.

Despite the presence of reinforcements, including the standby paramilitary forces from the neighbouring districts, the police had a tough time managing the crowd here.

Onlookers swamped the General Hospital since morning to take a look at the bodies.

3 bullet wounds

UNI reports:

The post-mortem examination conducted on Veerappan’s body today revealed that he had suffered three bullet injuries. A confidential medical report said he had sustained bullet injuries on his forehead, chest and hip. One bullet was taken out during the post-mortem examination.

Sethukuzhi Govindan had 15 bullet injuries. Sethumani had six bullet injuries and Chandre Gowde had six bullet injuries.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Ex-intelligence op found dead

An ex-army captain was found dead in his car, close to the Dehiwela beach yesterday.

The police acting on information received from residents of the area visited the scene identified the victim as Captain Mohammed Suresh Jaward Abdul Casim, who had been attached to the military intellgence unit.

Initial inquiries have revealed that the victim, who had served in Trincomalee during the war, had left his Nugegoda residence on the previous day in the company of a friend. Police did not rule out the possibility of the ex-officer’s friend shooting him dead over a private dispute.

Military sources said the victim had been removed from service about 10 years ago on disciplinary grounds. (NP)