COLOMBO: STATE Intelligence wings on their persistent hunt for residual Tiger (LTTE) elements and their proxies in Colombo and elsewhere had been able to make several major breakthroughs into intended terrorist bloodbaths, including planned assassination attempts on the President MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA.
The most recent arrest of an LTTE mastermind who has been operating with the support of several others in Colombo revealed that all three attempts made on the lives of President MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA and Defence Secretary GOTABAYA RAJAPAKSA have failed by a whisker due to tightened security network, being provided to both of them and Police arrangements, the Court inquiring into the WELLAWATTE suicide bomber’s death has been told.
Information provided by an arrested Tiger, who had received special training in KILINOCHCHI for VIP assassination plans has led state intelligence service (SIS) sleuths to find four LTTE suicide jackets, kept hidden inside the ceiling of a luxurious residential complex apartment in WELLAWATTE on 14 May 2009.
As the SIS officers in the company of the said arrested terrorist surrounded the 7th floor of the residential complex, one more youth, an undergraduate in engineering in the MORATUWA University resident there who was also to be arrested for his close links with Tigers, suddenly ran to one corner of the flat and committed suicide by jumping off the building. The deceased was later identified as THAMODARAM PILLAI SUJINDRAN, It has been confirmed now that he was a hardcore terrorist operating in Colombo for sometime.
Further investigations affirmed that a brother of the dead terrorist is one of the three share holders of the WELLAWATTE residential complex now living in London. Findings confirmed he himself was a hardcore LTTE operative who has been actively involved in the LTTE’s international network.
SIS investigators later on took his sister, mother and three more youngsters studying in a private school in WELLAWATTE area into custody for interrogations.
The first assassination attempt on the President, according to the arrested Tiger, has been made while he was attending a passing out parade at DIYATALAWA military academy on 20 December 2008. A military officer who has been involved in the execution of those plans has also been arrested and detained.
The second assassination plan on the President was to be meted out when he was participating in the “Deyata Kirula” exhibition at the BMICH on 4th April 2009. The suicide bomber had sought permission to enter the premises in the company of the arrested military officer, but the senior Police officer in-charge of security there at the BMICH Gate-4 strictly adhered to instructions of his superiors to the letter and did not allow the terrorist and the military officer to enter the BMICH premises where the President was to have visited. Thus LTTE’s second attempt on the life of the President has ended in smoke, the Court has been further told.
The third attempt was of complex nature. LTTE suicide bombers executed a suicide attack on a group of Ministers, attending a Muslim religious function at GODAKAPITIYA in AKURESSA, MATARA. It was held to mark the birthday of Prophet MOHOMMATH NABI. Minister MAHINDA WIJESEKARA and several other politicians were seriously injured in the explosion and admitted to National Hospital COLOMBO.
Tiger terrorists, presuming that the President would be coming to see hospitalized Ministers, dispatched a suicide cadre to the hospital premises, but the target did not meet its fruition. By then the President has fortunately visited the injured and left the premises when the suicide bomber had found his way to the location where the President was to have arrived.
As interrogations intensifying, Police investigators maintain that more and more startling disclosures and terrorist plans would be brought to light in time to come. More arrests are also expected as interrogations continue.
Despite the fact that LTTE leadership has been decimated along with their top-rung leaders, intelligence says that their secret agents were still trying hard to strike wherever possible.
