Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingam ( ta, செல்வராசா பத்மநாதன்; alias Selvarasa Pathmanathan, Kumaran Pathmanathan or simply KP) (born 6 April 1955)
is a former prominent member of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(LTTE). Pathmanathan was on
Interpol's most wanted list for various charges including
arms smuggling and
criminal conspiracy.
He is also wanted by
India's
law enforcement agencies in connection with the
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of former
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
in 1991 and for violation of the Terrorist Act and the Indian Explosive Act. He was arrested on 5 August 2009.
Pathmanathan was released from prison on 17 October 2012, when the complaints against him by Sri Lanka were withdrawn.
Early life
Little information is available on Pathmanthan's early life. He was born Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingam on 6 April 1955 in the town of
Kankesanthurai in the
Jaffna District of
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
Pathmanathan, who can converse in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
,
English,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Sinhala is known to have left Sri Lanka in 1983.
Aliases
Pathmanathan is known to use more than 23
aliases and masks.
In addition, his last name can be spelled as Padmanadan or Pathmanaban or Pathmanadan or Pathmanathan, hence there are numerous variations of his name.
Involvement in LTTE
Fund raising activities
Pathmanathan was one of the top LTTE officials and the chief procurer of arms for the organization. He ran a global network of LTTE offices which were engaged in its weapons procurement, logistics and money laundering operations.
Initially based in
Malaysia, where he set up a shipping company in 1987, he was forced to move out after the
Malaysian Special Branch cracked down on LTTE activities in the country in 1990, culminating in the seizure of an LTTE ship the same year.
Pathmanathan then moved to
Thailand, which became a safe haven for the LTTE.
There he established himself as the head of banking, procurement and shipping for the LTTE. He is believed to have obtained citizenship of Thailand.
According to a report by ''
Jane's Intelligence Review'':
In Thailand Pathmanathann set up and led the "KP Department", the procurement arm of the LTTE, the oldest international wing of the organisation. He was responsible for equipping the rebels with a modern-day arsenal which enabled them to challenge the
Sri Lankan Military
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...
and to fight a high intensity war. He procured modern hardware, paid for them through secret bank accounts, and shipped them to the rebels using a merchant shipping network operated by the "KP Department", known as the "sea pigeons".
Apart from setting up a number of lucrative businesses in Thailand, Pathmanathan established a state-of-the-art boatyard in the country, which manufactured over a dozen different boats, including
mini-submarines and suicide boats.
The "KP Department" was complemented by another international wing of the LTTE called the "Aiyanna Group". While the "KP Department" acted as the procurement arm of the LTTE, the Aiyanna Group looked after the fund raising and intelligence operations of the organization. Jane's Intelligence Review estimated in 2007 that the LTTE earns between $200–300 million per year through their fund-raising activities and numerous illegal businesses.
The heads of both departments operated under the direct guidance of the LTTE leader
Velupillai Prabhakaran and intelligence head
Pottu Amman, both of whom were also on the Interpol most wanted list.
Rajiv Gandhi assassination
On 21 May 1991, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a
suicide bomber at a public meeting in
Sriperumbudur
Sriperumbudur is a town panchayat in the Kanchipuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 40 kilometers southwest of the capital city of Chennai on the National Highway 4 (India)(old numbering), National Highway 4 and i ...
,
Tamil Nadu. The assassination was carried out by the LTTE suicide bomber
Thenmuli Rajaratnam
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, India on 21 May 1991. At least 14 others, in addition to Rajiv Gandhi, were killed. It was carried ou ...
, also known as Dhanu, who detonated an
RDX
RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a n ...
explosive-laden belt tucked below her dress as she bent down to greet him.
Intelligence agencies believe that Pathmanathan had links with the planning of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
The Indian
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
(CBI) approached 23 countries in 2001 requesting information regarding LTTE members who they believed were linked with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, where Pathmanathan was believed to be hiding at the time, was one of the countries.
The
Interpol Headquarters in
Lyon,
France, also issued a
red notice against Pathmanathan, which requests member states to arrest the suspect and hold him for extradition. The notice stated, "Tharmalingam (Pathmanathan) is alleged to have been involved in the murder of Rajiv Gandhi on 21 May 1991 in Tamil Nadu, India."
Intended presence at peace negotiations
Following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the
Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE in 2002, the LTTE nominated Pathmanathan as a member of its delegation to the Peace Talks scheduled with the government in late 2003. They passed on a request, through
Norwegian facilitators of the negotiations, to find out whether the Government had any objections to "Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingam" being part of the delegation.
The Government rejected the request, mainly because he was wanted in India for links with Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, and letting him join the delegation would have ruptured relations between the two nations.
The LTTE's reasons for nominating Pathmanathan to the delegations are unclear but most likely had were linked to him being sought by
Interpol,
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
and
MI5. Being on the list of peace negotiators would have meant, with Sri Lanka's approval, Pathmanathan would no longer be one of the world's most wanted men.
Department of International Relations
In January 2009 Pathmanathan was appointed head of the newly created "Department of International Relations". He was LTTE's chief international spokesman during the last months of the civil war.
He urged Prabhakaran who was trapped in the No Fire Zone to escape and promised that he could break the naval blockade. Prabhakaran did not directly talk with KP due to suspicions of the military intelligence monitoring his communications. He also talked to Charles Anthony who instead requested more weapons. KP attempted to hire a helicopter with Ukrainian mercenary pilots but could not arrange the funds from Scandinavian agents. It was also doubted if a rescue of the LTTE leadership was even possible as a previous attempt by the Sea Tigers to break through the naval blockade resulted in a disaster with only two suicide craft making past the first line of
Arrow boats only to be destroyed by the Dvoras of the second line. Further the land routes were surrounded and constant air patrols monitored the air space.
Leader of the LTTE
Pathmanathan was left as the most senior LTTE member following the death of most of the LTTE's leadership, including Prabhakaran, in the final stages of the civil war. On 21 July 2009 a statement was issued, allegedly from the executive committee of the LTTE, stating that Pathmanathan had been appointed leader of the LTTE.
Pathmanathan claimed to a
Channel 4 interview that he has 1500-2000 LTTE members hiding in the jungles of Sri Lanka who had ceased hostilities for now but are awaiting his orders to restart the war.
Fugitive status
Pathmanathan was the subject of a worldwide manhunt, which involved police from cities including
Johannesburg,
Yangon,
Singapore and
Bangkok. Some of the world's foremost
intelligence agencies, India
RAW
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
including the American
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
and British
MI5, were on his trail.
He was believed to have had bank accounts in
London,
Frankfurt,
Denmark,
Athens and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and over 200
passports for his use.
In May 2011, he alleged that the
United Nations and a "western country" worked to help many
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
operatives escape from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
Known as an elusive, secretive individual, he helped keep a low profile by having direct contact only with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Arrest
There were conflicting reports from
Thailand that Pathmanathan had been arrested on 11 September 2007. The reports were preceded by the detention in
Ranong Province of three other LTTE operatives the month before, for trying to buy guns and 45,000 rounds of ammunition.
However a number of Thai officials rejected the reports, claiming they had no information about such an arrest.
Thai immigration officers claimed that no such person had entered the country in the last two years.
Pathmanathan was arrested in a South East Asian country on 5 August 2009. Initial reports suggested that he was captured in
Thailand, but this was denied by Thai authorities.
But it was later revealed that he had been arrested by Sri Lankan
State Intelligence Service agents and a
covert
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
Sri Lankan military intelligence unit, with the cooperation of local authorities, in the
Tune Hotel, downtown
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. The
Sri Lankan Government announced on 7 August that he had been brought to
Colombo. Sources have termed him "crucial" to the uncovering of various
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
crime networks.
After his arrest he began cooperating with the Sri Lanka government.
On 9 July 2010, Pathmanathan established the
North-East Rehabilitation and Development Organization (NERDO), a
Non-Governmental Organization for the provision of relief to the
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) while upgrading facilities for better physical, mental and living conditions for them.
In October 2012, media sources reported that Pathmanathan was being released from custody, quoting the head of Media Center for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle. Later he rejected the reports by saying Pathmanathan who is under special protection was permitted to engage in his NGO work and has not been released as claimed by media.
KP has not been released - Hulugalle
/ref>
References
External links
LTTE Department of International Relations
Interpol wanted notice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pathmanathan, Selvarasa
1955 births
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members
Living people
Sri Lankan Tamil rebels
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
Fugitives wanted by India
Indian Peace Keeping Force