The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Prize catch a fruit of three-year hunt

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 27, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Prize catch a fruit of three-year hunt

By Our Staff Reporter

METTUR, MAY 26. The arrest of the Tamizhar Viduthalai Iyakkam leader and the "most wanted" Tamil extremist, Suba Ilavarasan, near Mettur this morning, comes as a prize catch for the Special Task Force, going by the number of cases pending against him.

Listing his "criminal antecedents", the Superintendent of Police, STF, Senthamaraikannan, said the TVI leader was involved in more than 20 criminal cases in Villuppuram, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Erode and Salem.

He is cited a mastermind in the transmission tower blast at Thoppiankulam of Villuppuram district on November 19, 2002 "under the pretext" of highlighting the Cauvery issue. Three other activists, Packiaraj, Manivannan and Arul, were arrested by the STFs of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in 2003. But the hunt for Ilavarasan continued.

He faces charges of deputing four activists to assist the forest brigand, Veerappan, in kidnapping Karnataka's ex-Minister Nagappa. Of the four, Packiaraj, Selvam and Shankar were arrested by the STF.

Ilavarasan, who was a National Security Act detenu since December 27, 1999, went underground after his discharge.

His cadres were involved 58 criminal cases in Perambalur district and 20 in Cuddalore district.

Ilavarasan was allegedly involved in supplying an AK 47 rifle to the brigand in 2001 through Arivazhagan, a TVI activist.

The hunt continues for one other Tamil extremist, Sethumani who is suspected to be with Veerappan, STF sources said.

Intelligence sleuths of the STF had been gathering inputs from Villuppuram, Cuddalore and Perambalur districts where banned outfits have their roots, STF sources added. Today's arrest is expected to throw light on the nexus the banned Tamil extremist movements reportedly have with the brigand.

The Superintendent of Police, Salem Rural District, A.G. Ponmanickavel, told The Hindu that Deputy Superintendent of Police Omalur, Govindaraj would be the chief investigating officer in the case.

Cases were registered against Ilavarasan and his associate, Sahadevan, for "unlawful entry" into the jungles and under Sections 4 (b), 5 and 6 of the Explosive Substances Act of 1908 (for attempts to endanger the life of a government servant and Abetment of Explosive Offences, under Sections 27 (use of firearm), 25 (use of unlicensed firearm) of the Arms Act of 1959 and Section 307 of Indian Penal Code (for attempt to murder).

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