Three LTTE operatives held

Three suspected operatives of the LTTE were today arrested and a cache of detonators was seized from their possession, four days after a member of the banned outfit was nabbed by the police.

Three suspected operatives of the LTTE were today arrested and a cache of detonators was seized from their possession, four days after a member of the banned outfit was nabbed by the police.

HT Image

The trio was arrested by the Tamil Nadu 'Q' branch during a raid at Tiruchirapalli. 4,900 ordinary detonators and 430 electric detonators were seized from them, an official release said in Chennai.

Siva, Selvam, Tamiz stayed illegally in Chennai, Erode and Tiruchirapalli, respectively, without registering themselves as Sri Lankan Tamils, it said, adding that strict vigil along the coastal areas prevented them from smuggling the detonators to Sri Lanka.

Investigations revealed that the trio did not have any plans to carry out terror acts in India, the release said.

Meanwhile, 38-year-old Chiranjeevi, a member of the intelligence wing of LTTE who was arrested on June 16, had confessed to having smuggled explosives along with Siva, Selvam, Tamiz, during the war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army, police claimed.

The arrested were, however, not involved in the recent track blast near Peranai railway station, where passengers of the Tiruchi-Chennai Egmore Rockfort Express had a narrow escape, the release stated.