The Hindu : Front Page : How interrogation threw up concealment of explosives in LTTE boat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 21, 2007
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How interrogation threw up concealment of explosives in LTTE boat

S. Vijay Kumar and R.K. Radhakrishnan

Estimate of the quantum of TNT varies between 500 kg and 2,000 kg

IN THE DOCK: The five accused on board the vessel in Chennai last week. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI/MADURAI: The team probing the matter of the boat apprehended by the Coast Guard on February 13 was in for a shock on February 19. The team repeatedly questioned the five crew members on what they were doing off Point Calimere — until one of them blurted out that the boat was lined with explosives.

The boat had been searched by the Coast Guard, the State Police, and personnel from the central intelligence using sophisticated equipment, and even sniffer dogs.

Sleuths of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) now examined the boat again and confirmed the presence of Trinitrotoluene, an explosive substance. (TNT is cheap, safer than many other explosive substances to handle and has fairly high explosive power.)

While one agency said the total quantum was ``in the region of 500 kg,'' another put the quantum at ``about 2,000 kg.'' A charger to trigger the explosion and detonators were also found. But these were not activated. ``It does not take too long to connect and trigger an explosion. A couple of hours would suffice," said an expert.

The questioning of the suspects revealed that they had sailed from Iralai towards India from the northern part of Jaffna in order to avoid interception by the Sri Lankan Navy. Ramachandran, an Indian, was taken on board to mislead Indian security agencies that the boat was being used for fishing. He had no direct links with the LTTE and was involved in clandestine boat operations to transport people illegally between Arichamunai and Thalaimannar, a police officer added.

When Coast Guard personnel boarded the boat on February 13, they were surprised at the amount of food and water that the boat had stocked up. "It all did not add up. One AK-56, five grenades, one suicide vest, the barrels of ammonia and chemicals.'' ``The weapons on board were too few. Initially we thought this was a decoy vessel,'' said a Coast Guard officer.

There were a few questions the team was looking to answer. The presence of a `Black Tiger' operative on board the vessel, the fact that Indians had boarded the boat and the fact that it was found off Point Calimere were crucial.

"We have strong reasons to believe that the accused were part of a suicide mission engineered by the Sea Tigers of the LTTE. Their plan could have been to attack Sri Lankan warships," a senior police official said. Experts said the boat had enough ammunition to blow up a harbour.

Was it necessary to blow up the boat? "Absolutely," says a senior official whose organisation was represented in the joint investigation team. "It was a security risk. You cannot keep it there. A fraction of the explosive on board could have destroyed the port. We are sure there was no way to dismantle the explosive."

A security expert is not so sure. "For an explosive to go off, a detonator, a switch and a power source are needed. The quantity of material is not the problem. The question is: if the detonator was not connected, then there would be no primary explosion. If there is no trigger, then the explosive cannot blow up."

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