MADRAS: The Rajiv Gandhi assassination probe has exposed the role allegedly played by political parties, like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and by movements like Dravida Kazhagam nur turning the LTTE movement in the state.

While the DMK’s alleged role has so far rot been substantiated, the role of the Dravida Kazhagam appears to be suspect. The evidence after the arrest of 19 persons in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case showed that DK activists allegedly helped the conspirators.

The first D.K link was revealed on June 19 following the arrest of one Perarivalan. Conclusive evidence was found after the Special Investigating Team (SIT) caught up with Peria Santhan, believed to be a key player in the assassination, Santhan was tracked down to a hideout in Tiruchi on November 3. The hideout was the house of Ananthraj, a DK activist. The house was named “Thambi Prabhakaran Illam” (House of brother Prabhakaran), presume ably after the LTTE supreme. Besides a portrait of Prabhakaran adored the en trance to the house. One of the walls also displayed a picture of K.Veermani, D.K leader.

There was one more DK link in the Santhan sega. The man who led the SIT to  Santhan’s. Lair was Gana Sebastian, who worked in the Periyar College of Pharmacy run by the Periyar Trust Sebastian appears to have been quite an asset to Santhan. Mahendrara a SriLankan refugee, who was picked up hours before Santhan killed himself, told the police that the LTTE operative had used him to pass a note to Sebastian Mehora told the police that Sebastian had scanned the note and told him to pass a message to Santhan that the needful was being done, Yet another DK link in the LTTE network was revealed in August after the arrest of Raghu alias Sivaraj and Vicky alias Vigneshwaran in Coimbatore. The two LTTE militants were charged with Manu fracturing hand grenades for the Lankan rebels, Six Indians were also arrested. Among them were Kosi Ramakrishnan, who now heads a breakaway DK faction, and Archway, who is also pan of the splinter group.

NEW MOVEMENT: Recently, the police came to know about a movement called the Tamil National Retrieval Force. (Tamil Desiya Meetpu Padai) led by one Ravi of Arupukotiai. Ravi had been given arms training in Jaffna and came back to recruit 25 more youth. Six of the young enlisted by Ravi were DK spanner’s, according to the police, The force was being formed to gamer sympathy for the LTTE here and also to fight for a separate Tamil state, Another example of the DKs alleged commitment to the LTTE cause was revealed after the arrest of a militant Varadhan alias Shankaran (20), who claimed that he had fought against the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) Varadan was given shelter by one Ponnuswamy.

The police said Ponnuswamy had handed over R.s 6 lakh to Shaan a DK activist from Karur, and Palaniswamy. The police ear lier seized a Maruti Gypsy from the farm house of Palaniswamy whose son, Rathnaswamy, happens to be a DK activist owing allegiance to the Veeramani faction.

The police and SIT officials believe that DK supporters harbored assisted and abused LTTE militants. The inspector general of police law and order), Walter Davaram, told The Times of India News Service that many of those arrested belong to the DK. Davaram said some activists of the DK (Ramakrishnan group) were openly supporting the LTTE.

However, the DK leader, Veeramani, has holly contested this Veeramani categorically stated that none of the persons arrested by the police in connection with the assassination were DK activists, According to him some of those arrested could be DK sympathizers, but not office bearers.

According to him, Gana Sebastian, now in SIT custody, was employed only in an honorary capacity.

CRUCIAL EVIDENCE: Irumborai alias Duraisingham was arrested last month with three Sri Lankan militants (two of whom consumed cyanide and died). Trumborai was a courier and a letter seized from him, written by Poria Santhan to Prabhakaran, is likely to be the most crucial proof that the LITE had an assassination Rajiv Gandhi. Irumborai is allegedly a DK activist although; Veeramani says he might have been a member some years ago.

It has been alleged that the DMK Rajya Sabha MP, V. Gopalaswamy was partial towards the LITTE, He ran into a major Controversy after making a trip across the Palk Straits by boat to meet Prabhakaran.

Last week, the police picked up V.Ravichandran, younger brother of Gopalaswamy, from Tirunelveli and charged him with harboring eight LTTE militants.

Recent Press reports also alleged that a former minister in the DMK government had given asylum to Kanthan, wanted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, The ex-minister has however, rebutted the Some groups have, however, been open about their sympathies with the Tamil cause: One such group is the Revolutionary Youth Front (RYF), based in Madurai, and the other is the Tamil Desiya Iyakkam (Tamil National Federation).

Article extracted from this publication >> November 29, 1991