Terrorism-related incidents in Tamil Nadu, 2007-2009

2009

June 17: Indian Navy rescued four Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, including a former LTTE cadre and an Indian national, who spent 24 hours on an unmanned islet near Dhanushkodi before reaching Rameswaram.
May 3: At least 20 LTTE sympathisers were arrested for the attack on an Army convoy near Coimbatore a day earlier. Cases have also been registered against 200 people belonging to political groups sympathetic to the banned LTTE. The arrested include Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and Tamil nationalist leader K Ramakrishnan, Police sources said. Supporters of the LTTE reportedly stopped five Army trucks and soldiers on way back from training at Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh and proceeding to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
April 18: One LTTE militant was remanded to judicial custody in capital Chennai. Officials from the ‘Q’ wing of the Tamil Nadu Police dealing with extremist activities said the militant, identified as Muthanna, was arrested in the night of April 17 along with global positioning system equipment. Muthanna, who had come from the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka, was arrested after specific information disclosed by one Jayanathan, another LTTE militant arrested earlier.
April 3: Four persons were detained from the southern Chennai suburb of Thiruvanmaiyur by the SFs neutralising yet another LTTE ring that sought to smuggle war material to the outfit. The detainees included a LTTE cadre identified as Sahanthan who belonged to the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka. He had arrived in India about a year ago and his mission was to coordinate activities aimed at supplying the LTTE war material, sources told. Detained along with him was a British national of Sri Lankan origin, Jayanathan, who flew into Tamil Nadu recently and who reportedly has had links with the LTTE in the past. The other two detainees were identified as Babu of Rameswaram and Guhan of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. Both are Indians and said to be linked to the Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a pro-LTTE group in Tamil Nadu that is now allied to the ruling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam. Seized from them were several satellite telephones, Global Positioning System, night vision devices as well as medicines. It is the first action on the LTTE in 2009 in Tamil Nadu.

2008

December 31: Authorities received three e-mail threats from the Deccan Mujahideen outfit to attack the celebration of Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (Indian Diaspora Day) scheduled to be held in Chennai from January 7-9, 2009. The emails were traced to Saudi Arabia. The threats against the celebration were sent using an e-mail identity, deccan_mujahideen@yahoo.com.
December 30: A 30-year-old Sri Lankan national was arrested in Chennai by Police on charges of attempting to smuggle communication equipments to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The youth, identified as Dileepan, was arrested along with three satellite phones meant for the LTTE.
December 28: The Tamil Nadu Police arrested an alleged supplier of explosives to the LTTE, Amir Anthony Paranthaman of Vavuniya (Sri Lanka), near Tambaram bus stand in capital Chennai and seized 500 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, eight Global Positioning System devices, three satellite phones and two Global Systems for Mobile repeater sets from his possession.
December 5: Three more abandoned boats were found drifting in the coast raising suspicion among officials that the LTTE militants were sneaking into Tamil Nadu. The boats found abandoned were located at Arichalmunai, Erandam and Moondram theedai.
December 4: Six boats, some with bullet marks and blood stains, were found abandoned off Rameswaram and Nagapattinam coasts. "If it is one or two boats, it is okay. But how can so many boats drift to the shore. It appears to be a case of infiltration," an unnamed top official of Tamil Nadu Police said.
August 6: Two LTTE cadres, identified as K. Uma Ramanan and A. Amalan, who hail from Jaffna in Sri Lanka, were arrested from capital Chennai. Police said the duo was in possession of an unspecified quantity of ammonium nitrate besides cables and detonators. With these arrests, the total number of LTTE militants arrested in the past week has increased to 10.
August 3: Police in Ramanathapuram arrested a suspected LTTE militant in connection with the seizure of Global Positioning System and other electronic material at Uppur near Ramanathapuram recently. K.A. Senthil Velan, Superintendent of Police, said the Police arrested Krishna Neethan alias Nixon, son of Sivasekaran of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka, at the Ramanathapuram bus stand.
July 30: The Tamil Nadu Police arrested a top LTTE functionary, identified as J. Thambi Annan a.k.a. Daniel, from Chennai. "It is a very important catch. He is placed high in the LTTE's hierarchy. Daniel was heading the procurement module of the outfit in Sri Lanka," said the Director-General of Police (Law and Order) K.P. Jain. Daniel, a resident of Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka, played an instrumental role in procuring major consignments, including explosive substances, for the outfit from India and other parts of the world. He was involved in the attempts to smuggle consignments of aluminium ingots and ball bearings, which were intercepted and seized by the Police in Ramanathapuram and Madurai Districts in the recent months.
Police seized a large quantity of electronic gadgets and other articles meant for smuggling to Sri Lanka and arrested four persons at Uppur Chathiram in Ramanathapuram. Acting on a tip-off, the Police team intercepted a speeding van at Uppur Chathiram check post and seized 10 Global Positioning System equipments, 3360 pen torch batteries, one Honda Genset, one bundle LTTE uniform, five cell phones, 11 life jackets, one pistol cover, one satellite TV receiver, two battery chargers and Rupees 28050 cash. All the seized goods were meant for the LTTE in Sri Lanka.
July 27: The 'Q' branch of the Tamil Nadu Police neutralised a terrorist module with the arrest of a 39-year-old suspected fundamentalist who allegedly was part of a plot to cause bomb blasts on trains and in Chennai and Tirunelveli.
July 24: A donation slip book bearing a Kilinochchi address in Sri Lanka, camera, video cassettes, INR 25000 in cash and two film rolls kept inside a bag was seized by the Police in Thoothukudi. The bag was found abandoned near the Thoondigai Vinayagar Temple in Tiruchendur. Police suspect that the bag could have been left at the spot either by some Sri Lankan tourist or supporters of the LTTE.
July 22: The 'Q' Branch of the Tamil Nadu Police neutralised a major LTTE procurement network, seizing five imported Yamaha outboard motors with a 40-horse-power capacity each. In connection with the seizures, the Police team arrested Kumargurubaran, a resident of Chennai, Ramesh, hailing from Ramanathapuram, and Manamohan from Pesalai in Sri Lanka, from near the Kattumanadi bus stop near Manalmelkudi.
June 14: A suspected LTTE sympathiser was arrested and goods, including batteries and medicines, were seized from a high speed boat in the sea off Devipattinam at Rameswaram. The Police seized INR 1000000 worth of batteries, Army uniforms, medicines and gloves from the boat around mid-night, the sources said, adding, there were 25 bundles, including 18,000 batteries, uniforms, medicines, 'beedies' (locally made cigars) and other items. Inspector Thiagarajan told PTI that the occupants of the boat jumped into the sea on seeing the Police but they managed to catch Vijayan, an LTTE sympathiser from Sri Lanka. Three others, who hail from Devipattinam, managed to escape, he added.
May 18: The 'Q' Branch Police in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) arrested two Sri Lankan nationals allegedly supplying explosives and electronic gadgets to LTTE. The duo had sent huge quantities of explosives to the LTTE through agents along the Rameswaram coast. Following information, Police intercepted a Tata Sumo vehicle near Villapuram and took into custody P. Jayaraja alias Viji alias Vijayan of Mannar and T. Chinnavan alias Padmaraja of Jaffna. They were in possession of 44 walkie-talkie sets and INR 459000 in cash. K. Senthil of Madurai who provided logistic support to the two was also arrested sources in the intelligence agencies said.
April 2: The Coastal Security Group Police neutralised a network involved in supplying uniforms to the LTTE. It came to light when a CSG team raided a boat used to make illegal trips to Iranatheevu, controlled by the LTTE, in Sri Lanka, near the fishing harbour in Rameswaram. There were five persons on board, identified as Oomaiyan alias Christhu, Vellaiyan, the owner of the boat Chellaiah, Murugan and Arasu, who possessed photographs of model uniforms, which were supposed to be delivered to a group of tailors in Tamil Nadu. A sum of INR 3000 and 50 soaps were also seized.
March 27: Police arrested there persons who were involved in smuggling activities for the LTTE, under the National Security Act. The arrestees were identified as Murugapandi, Muthuramalingam and R. Raja. According to a press release, four Maoists were also arrested from Varsanadu in the Theni District and cases were filed against them under various sections of the IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act.
February 11: The Tamil Nadu Police arrested an alleged supplier of explosives to the LTTE and seized from him 100 detonators, 83 gelatine sticks and 10 metres of fuse wire. The man had been shuttling between Tiruchirapalli and Pudukottai to procure the explosive substances, including gelatine sticks, Tamil Nadu Police's 'Q' Branch Inspector Thiagarajan told reporters.
January 20: Tamil Nadu Police arrested two more persons in connection with the smuggling of ball bearings, reportedly used by the LTTE to make explosives, to Sri Lanka. Following the trail of cell phone contacts of Nathan alias Suruli, arrested along with seven others at Madipakkam on January 17 in the same case, 'Q' Branch Police intercepted Selvaraj, working in a sweet stall in Mumbai for the last 25 years, and seized small packets of ball bearings he had bought as samples.
January 16: The Tamil Nadu Police arrested Nathan alias Suruli alias Thambithurai Parameswaran, the LTTE Tamil Nadu intelligence unit chief, from a hideout at Madipakkam. They also arrested seven other Sri Lankan nationals, who worked under him as helpers to collect information about anti-LTTE leaders like Varadaraja Perumal and Douglas Devananda, besides posing as traders to buy items like spare parts for two-wheelers and boats to be sent back to Sri Lanka.
January 8: The 'Q' Branch of the Tamil Nadu Police intercepted a consignment of explosives bound for Sri Lanka in Madurai and took six persons into custody, who admitted that they were meant for use by the LTTE. S. Sivakrishnan alias Nandan of Sri Lanka and S. Muthuramalingam of Kamuthi were found to be in possession of 5,000 detonators concealed in a travel bag.

2007

December 8: Three persons of Sri Lankan origin, including a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre from its marine wing, were arrested by the 'Q' branch of the Tamil Nadu Police in the car parking area of the international airport terminal in the capital Chennai. The three were allegedly involved in the purchase of a boat for the LTTE.
November 27: Two women were arrested at Semmamadam while trying to smuggle 3,300 detonators, 39 gelatine sticks and a bundle of fuse wires to Sri Lanka.
November 26: An LTTE cadre, identified as Sateeswaran, regarded as the kingpin in the outfit's procurement wing and wanted in connection with various cases of procuring and smuggling explosives, drugs and fuel for the banned outfit, was arrested when he was attempting to escape to Sri Lanka. The cadre from Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka had earlier tried to smuggle 50 bags of explosive substances, including Potassium Chlorate and Sulphur, which were seized at Paramakudi on November 18, Police said. A hand-book on making bombs, three cell phones and jewellery was recovered from him.
September 3: A Kuala Lumpur-bound passenger, identified as Suresh, was arrested at the Chennai airport for possessing books published by the proscribed LTTE.
August 21: The Indian Navy and Customs neutralised a racket in selling diesel to LTTE operatives. A joint patrolling party based at Rameswaram seized a mechanised boat and arrested five fishermen with Sri Lankan currency. "During interrogation, they confessed that they handed over 50 litres of diesel to the operatives of LTTE at Kottai Mannar in Mannar District. In exchange, the crew received INR 1,500 in Sri Lankan currency. They also revealed that nearly 60 fishing boats exchanged diesel to the LTTE men on Monday by violating the International Maritime Boundary Line," said Commander S. Mukherjee, Area Commander (South).
May 21: A suspected LTTE-trained militant wanted in connection with an attack bid on the Fort St George in Chennai in 1990 was arrested by Police at Thanjavur. Raja Ayyappan, a member of the Tamizhar Pasarai outfit, who allegedly received training at an LTTE camp between 1990 and 1998, was arrested following a tip off.
April 9: Three Sri Lankan refugees, who were enrolled at the Mandapam Transit Camp at Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu and quarantined on suspicion, after a seven-day interrogation have been identified as Sea-Tigers [LTTE sea wing cadres] and were arrested.
March 28: The Tamil Nadu Police recovered two sacks containing 1950 electrical detonators from Ramanathapuram. The ammunition cache was buried in a coconut grove at Irumeni under Uchipuli Police limits, 40 kilometers west of Pamban Bridge that links the Rameswaram Island to Mandapam, near the final land frontier on the Palk Strait that divide India and Sri Lanka. Ramanathapuram Superintendent of Police, R. Thirugnanam, disclosed that the cache was meant for the LTTE.
March 18: A key member of a gang suspected to be involved in smuggling of explosive materials for the LTTE was arrested at Mandapam, 125-km from Madurai.
March 8: Tamil Nadu Police arrested a person as part of their investigation into the seizure in Perambalur of iron balls meant for smuggling to Sri Lanka. The Director-General of Police (DGP), D. Mukherjee, said that Raju of Rameswaram, was arrested in Pudukottai on the basis of information gathered during the interrogation of a Sri Lankan, Rahul, alias Antony, who was arrested on March 7. The DGP said 41 people, including 16 Sri Lankan Tamils, were arrested for smuggling and unlawful activities on land and sea since November 29, 2006.
March 7: The Tamil Nadu Police arrested Rahul alias Antony, a Sri Lankan national, at K. K. Nagar, in Chennai and based on the information furnished by him, they seized 4.5 tonne of metal balls from a house at Venkatachalapathi Nagar in Perambalur.
March 6: A Sri Lankan national, Arulseelan, suspected to have links with the LTTE, was arrested at Dheeran Nagar in Tiruchy for possessing INR 1000000 cash in his house. A special team from Q Branch Police raided a washing powder company at Perambalur in connection with a hawala (illegal money transfer) case. They seized 150 bags of metal balls, each weighing 30-kilogram, concealed in the house of one Rameshkumar, who is absconding now.
February 20: The Coast Guard destroyed a LTTE boat seized by them on February 13. The decision to destroy the boat was taken after finding that the gap between the fibre sheets of the boat was packed with gunpowder and it could explode any time. Officials of Central and State agencies supervised the destruction process after it was towed by Coast Guard ship `Avvaiyar' to mid sea.
February 13: The Indian Coast Guard in the Palk Bay, 20 nautical miles from Point Calimere in south Tamil Nadu, intercepted a LTTE ship carrying a suicide bomb jacket packed with explosive substances weighing seven kilograms, five detonators, and arrested five persons, including one who served as a driver for the LTTE and four Sri Lankan Tamils. Besides the suicide bomb vest and detonators, five hand grenades, an AK-56 rifle with 124 rounds of ammunition and eight drums of 55 litres of liquid chemical were also found in the ship.
February 12: Indian Navy arrested two persons off Rameswaram coast and seized components of around 2.9 tonnes from them used for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Preliminary enquiry revealed that the IED components were being smuggled to the LTTE cadres in Sri Lanka.
January 23 Police have arrested eight suspected LTTE cadres from Tamil Nadu and seized more than two metric tons (2.2 US tons) of ball bearings that can be used for making mines. The arrested cadres had bought the bearings, manufactured in Mumbai, and were to planning to take them to Sri Lanka. Five of them were arrested on January 23-night in the capital Chennai, while three others were arrested on the same day from Tuticorin.
January 6: Outlook reports that fifty live rocket shells were netted by fishermen from the Palk Straits in waters off the Tamil Nadu coast in the past 15 days. The Israeli and German-made shells, packed in wooden boxes, are believed to have been abandoned by the LTTE. A Police official said, "The shells could have been jettisoned by militants while being transported to Sri Lanka after they were spotted by some Coast Guard officials."

Source: Compiled from English language media sources.