Link between Karuna and military intelligence in killing ( sundayleader.lk/20040905 )

A possible link between the Karuna faction and military intelligence in the murder of Ramalingam Padmaseelan alias Lt. Col. Senathiraja, the former Batticaloa political head of the LTTE has surfaced during investigations conducted in the east.

A military intelligence operative had picked up Kanapathipillai Mahendran alias Satchi Master from the Batticaloa Prison, according to investigation reports and accompanied him on a motorcycle for the hit.

Thereafter, Satchi Master had shot Senathiraja in Batticaloa town on July 5 at around 9.15 a.m. Senathiraja succumbed to his injuries on July 13th. Soon after the murder, the LTTE launched a clinical assault on Karuna supporters in the east and in Colombo.

The investigations have also revealed that according to Senathiraja's colleague who was with him on a motorbike, the LTTE leader had said that the two persons approaching them on a bike appeared familiar just before they were shot.

The police in Batticaloa and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) are aware of the new developments, but The Sunday Leader learns that so far very little headway is being made in the investigation, as no one, including senior police officers are willing to provide details.

Prison guards and others with information on the incident have so far refused to give statements to the SLMM for fear of reprisals.

Satchi Master was murdered inside the Batticaloa prison by LTTE cadre Mahendran Pulidaran on July 15. Satchi Master was a former LTTE member who was expelled from the organisation for misappropriation of funds.

The LTTE had charged that he was functioning as the spokesperson for Karuna from within the jail before Satchi Master was gunned down. He was arrested on May 31 by the Kathankudy Police and remanded for possession of weapons.

He and two other Karuna supporters in the jail were provided with cooking facilities, phones, money and even weapons, according to evidence provided at the magisterial inquiry into the Satchi Master murder.

Senathiraja had summoned a prison guard to the LTTE office at Thamaraikerny and inquired about the privileges being extended to Satchi Master and others inside the prison four days before he was shot.

Pulidaran had later told investigators that he had shot Satchi Master because he felt betrayed by the Karuna defection. The 9mm pistol that was later recovered from the cell where the shooting took place is believed to have belonged to Satchi Master.

Police also recovered magazines and two hand grenades inside the cell. Pulidaran had frequented the cell to give Satchi Master head massages. Investigators also believe that the murder was a revenge killing for the assassination of Senathiraja.

The Senathiraja murder has been shrouded in controversy. Soon after the murder, family members privately confided that he was not transferred to a hospital with better facilities by the Tigers, despite recommendations by doctors.