Terrorism-related incidents in Tamil Nadu since 2007

Sl. No.

Date

Place

Incident

1

January 20

Moolakadai, Chennai District

Police intercepted a car near and seized FICN worth INR 503,000. Three persons were also arrested.

Melur, Madurai District

Police arrested two persons on charges of attempting to pass off FICN.

Madurai District

A SIT of CB-CID arrested one person in connection with pipe bomb planted in senior BJP leader L K Advani's Jan Chetna Yatra (Public awareness tour) on October 27, 2011.

Udumalpet, Tirupur District

FICN with total face value of INR 15,000 were detected among the remittances received at SBI's branch.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Syed Sahabbudhin and Darvish Moideen, two accused in October 27, 2011 case relating to planting of a Pipe Bomb, have filed bail applications before the Madras High Court Bench in Tamil Nadu.

Police arrested three people for their alleged involvement in April 17, 2013, Bangalore (Karnataka) bomb blast.

2012

• October 28: The Reliance Oil Refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, and L&T shipyards in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat has been put on high alert by the intelligence agencies of the country. Top intelligence sources said there are specific inputs about a possible terror strike on these industrial houses.

• August 24: CCB of the Chennai Police arrested five persons on charges of circulating FICN of INR 500 denomination.

• August 18: According to Union Home secretary RK Singh, bulk of the rumours that triggered panic among people of NE States in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were sourced from Pakistan.

• August 5: Police arrested 3 suspects and seized FICN worth INR 100,000, including a printing unit owner in Tamil Nadu.

• June 13-14: In order to train Police officers in identifying FICN, a two-day workshop was organised by the Police Training College on June 13-14 in Chennai. Around 55 Police officers from across the State were trained in scientific methods of identification of FICN.

• June 5: Two men from Bihar have been arrested nearby Rasipuram in Namakkal District on the charge of possessing INR 3,000 FICN all in the denomination of INR 100.

• May 27: Police busted a FICN racket and arrested three men, identified as Mohammed Javeed, Mohammed Bashaar, and Mohammed Iftiyas at Samayapuram in Trichy District. They seized FICN with the face value of INR 63,000 along with genuine notes worth INR 91,000. The three arrested belonged to Bihar.

• April 11: The Tiruppur North Police had taken into FICN worth INR 20,000 which was found along with the cash remittance made by a person at a private sector bank in Tiruppur District in Tamil Nadu.

The Madras High Court reserved orders on petitions seeking of lifting the ban on LTTE in India.

• April 2: The Tamil Nadu Police denied as "totally baseless" a Sri Lankan media report that some 150 LTTE cadres were being trained in the State.

• January 16: A suspected sympathizer of the LTTE was arrested by Kochi city Police from Chengalpettu in Chennai in connection with a human trafficking case involving Sri Lankan Tamils. "We brought the accused from Chennai on Sunday [January 15] and presented him before the local magistrate, who remanded him in judicial custody.

2011

• December 29: ANF headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Alok Kumar, stepped up combing operations in the Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)]-affected areas in Malnad Districts following the killing of Sadashiva Gowda, a bamboo basket weaver, by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in a thick forest in Thondalkatte near Naadpalu, about 70 kilometres from Udupi. A poster beside the body was recovered with a warning, "right punishment will be given to the Police informers-Maoist." Karnataka's Home and Transport Minister R Ashok said the ANF has intensified combing operations in Udupi and other Malnad Districts to arrest Maoists.

• December 20: The Centre, said a terror module busted in Delhi recently had links with Pakistan-based terrorist group LeT. Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh informed Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) in a written reply that a special team of Delhi Police with the help of central intelligence agencies and Police from West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu apprehended seven suspected militants, including a Pakistani national, of an IM module last month.

• December 19: Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu) Police searched the premises of the Sri Devarajaswamy Temple in Kancheepuram following a message from the Chennai City Police. The Kancheepuram Police District control room received a wireless message from Chennai City Police that an anonymous caller rang up the City control room and claimed that he had heard a person, over phone at a public call office, saying that a bomb would be planted at the temple.

• November 30: Delhi Police investigators announced the neutralization of a terrorist cell that they claimed was responsible for a string of nationwide attacks in the year 2010.

Fugitive IM 'commander' Muhammad Zarar Siddibapa - a Karnataka resident also known by the alias Yasin Bhatkal and the commander of the cell, who is wanted for his alleged role in a string of urban bombings that began in 2005 - escaped arrest, the Police said. Adil is alleged to have had past relationships with both the JeM and organised crime groups. He, according to the Police, was living under cover in Madhubani, Bihar, since 2010, when he was despatched to India by IM commanders in Karachi to aid Siddibapa's cell.

• November 27: Two IM militants, identified as Mohammad Irshad Khan and Abdur Rahman were arrested in Chennai by a Delhi Police team.

• November 3: Quoting Special Task Force (STF) officials said that two former cadres of the banned terror outfit Al-Umma have been identified as the masterminds behind the plot to target the convoy of BJP leader L K Advani during his journey near Madurai in Tamil Nadu and a manhunt is on to arrest them.

• November 2: The Special Investigation Team of Tamil Nadu Police produced two arrestees identified as Abdullah Abdul Rehman and Ismath before the Judicial Magistrate court in Madurai in connection with the case involving the plot to blow up the convoy of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L. K. Advani on October 28.

• March 10: The Director General of Police of Tamil Nadu, Letika Saran dismissed Sri Lankan Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne's allegation that the LTTE had three secret training camps in the State close to its border with Kerala as baseless.

• February 13: Central intelligence agencies communicated specific inputs to the Tamil Nadu Police that suspected LTTE cadres are conspiring to carry out attacks on VVIPs (very very important persons) during forthcoming Assembly elections in the State.

2010

• September 7: Two more persons were arrested by a Special Investigation Team in Coimbatore railway station in Tamil Nadu. The arrests were made in connection with the attack on the college lecturer J. Joseph whose right hand was chopped off allegedly by cadres of radical outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) for preparing a question paper with alleged derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. The arrestees were identified as K .M Shobin and Shanavaz. So far 22 persons have been arrested in the case.

• August 17: Assistant Sessions Court in Tambaram in Chennai convicted six LTTE sympathizers and sentenced them to one year imprisonment in a case registered against them by the Indian Q Branch Police in 2007. The report said that the Q Branch personnel had arrested five LTTE sympathizers, Hambianna, Senjames, Jayakumar, Pushpadanraj, Bominathan and Reticular, for trying to smuggle out a boat to Sri Lanka for the alleged use of the LTTE. The Q Branch officials had alleged that the accused connived and purchased a boat from the south of Tamil Nadu and were trying to smuggle it to Sri Lanka from Ramnad.

• July 11: A Sri Lankan national, Chandrayoga, was detained at the Airport of Chennai. He allegedly has links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). His entry into India was banned and a lookout circular was pending against him. Chandrayoga arrived at Chennai from Colombo.

• June 16: Three suspected operatives of the LTTE were arrested and a cache of detonators was seized from their possession, four days after a member of the banned outfit was arrested by the Police. The trio was arrested by the Tamil Nadu ''Q'' branch during a raid at Tiruchirapalli. 4,900 ordinary detonators and 430 electric detonators were recovered from them, an official release said in Chennai. Siva, Selvam, Tamiz stayed illegally in Chennai, Erode and Tiruchirapalli, respectively, without registering themselves as Sri Lankan Tamils, it said, adding that strict vigil along the coastal areas prevented them from smuggling the detonators to Sri Lanka. Investigations revealed that the trio did not have any plans to carry out terror acts in India, the release said. 38-year-old Chiranjeevi, a member of the intelligence wing of LTTE who was arrested on June 16, had confessed to having smuggled explosives along with Siva, Selvam, Tamiz, during the war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army, Police claimed. The arrested were, however, not involved in the recent track blast near Peranai Railway Station, where passengers of the Tiruchi-Chennai Egmore Rockfort Express had a narrow escape, the release stated.

• June 13: The Police detained eight persons belonging to the proscribed Tamil Desiya Iyakkam for interrogation in connection with June 12 Railway track blast at Sithani near Villupuram, reports The Hindu. Those detained are Tamil Vengai, Jothi Narasimhan, K.Balu, Elumalai, Ezhil Ilango, Ganesan, Jayaraman and Kumar. They were taken to various Police Stations located at Kanjanur, Kaanai, Kedar and Thiruvennainallur for interrogation.

• June 12: Passengers of the Tiruchirapalli-Chennai Rockfort Express had a narrow escape when suspected pro- LTTE elements blasted railway tracks at Perani Railway Station in Villupuram District in the wee hours. About three feet of tracks were blown off in the explosion when the train was coming towards the station at around 2:10 am (IST). The station master cautioned the driver of the train, who applied emergency brakes averting a major train disaster, Police and Railway sources said. Leaflets condemning the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa were recovered from the site, Police said.

2009

• November 30: As part of a Central initiative to strengthen the intelligence machinery across the country in the backdrop of the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Tamil Nadu Police has operationalised a SMAC. Linked to the Multi-Agency Centre of the IB in New Delhi, the system is connected to all other intelligence units in the State.

• October 23: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee headquarters secretary R. Dhamotharan lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police that an anonymous caller had on warned of explosions in the TNCC office on Thiru VI Ka Salai and the residence of TNCC president K.V. Thangkabalu at Adyar. The man had claimed he was calling from the Sri Lankan Tamil refugee camp at Gummidipoondi, near Chennai.

• October 22: SFs were put on high alert in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu, and its suburbs following a letter received at the Adyar Police Station that warned of attacks on important targets. Though the letter did not specify any date or time for an attack, it named the Tamil Nadu Police Academy, Chennai Airport, Officers Training Academy and the "American Embassy" (U.S. Consulate) among others as its targets and challenged the Police to avert the sabotage if they could, Police sources said.

• July 24: The Madras High Court Bench in Madurai confirmed the conviction imposed on four alleged LTTE sympathizers, Balasundaram alias Sundaram, Meiyappan, Kannan and Murugan, for attempting to hurl a bomb at the Police, but commuted their sentence to one-year rigorous imprisonment. Justice A. Selvam held that the convicts need not undergo three years of imprisonment, as ordered by a Fast Track Court in Pudukottai district in 2004, considering the nature of offence committed and the fact that they were first time offenders.

• July 7: A massive combing operation was launched by the Tamil Nadu Police, with assistance from intelligence and Coast Guard personnel, in nearby islands and all coastal Districts of the State to verify whether any LTTE militant had infiltrated into the areas in the aftermath of the outfit's defeat in Sri Lanka. The operations, ordered by the MHA, were being carried out jointly by the Tamil Nadu Police, including the Coastal Security Group and "Q" Branch, various intelligence wing personnel and Coast Guard, official sources said. Police used metal detectors and sniffer dogs to thoroughly check the casurina jungle in Dhanushkodi area and various islands, including the Musal Tivu in the Gulf of Mannar. The operations would continue till tonight, they said.

• 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."