Colombo: The funeral of Thiruvekkadam Velupillai, father of slain LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, will be held on Monday in Sri Lanka`s Jaffna peninsula, likely
to be attended by the guerrilla leader`s mother.
The remains of Velupillai, who died over seven months after Prabhakaran`s was killed in a military offensive in northern Sri Lanka were handed by the army from its protection to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian and an independent Presidential candidate K Sivajilingam yesterday.
Sivajilingam was given the body on the basis of power of attorney sent by Prabhakaran`s sister Vinothini Rajendran, who lives in Canada. The Parliamentarian was also handed over the custody of Prabhakaran`s mother Parvathi.
Parvathi is also expected to attend the funeral of her husband that is to take place at 11.am at Velvetiturai general cemetery in the Jaffna peninsula on Monday.
The 86-year old Velupillai died on Wednesday due to old-age related problems including paralysis at the Army camp at Panagoda in Western Province.
At the time of his death, he was under the protection of the Army at the Army camp in Panagoda. Panagoda houses one of the main military hospitals operated by Sri Lanka Army Medical corps.
The government has maintained that the couple had been kept in good conditions. The military found the aged parents of Prabhakaran on information provided by the war displaced civilians, in one of the government run camps in Vavuniya district in the last week of May. The parents of Prabhakaran were thereafter moved into protective custody after their identities were established.
Vinodhini Rajendran, the sister of Prabhakaran who lives in Canada, had made a request through the Sri Lankan high commission there to hand over the remains of Velupillai
to Sivajilingam, according to media reports.
After producing the power of attorney which he received to take over the remains of Velupillai, Sivajilingam was permitted carry out the funeral ceremonies.
Velvettiruai is the native village of Velupillai. Prabhakaran`s mother Parvathi, who along with her husband has been under Army’s protective custody since July 2 last year, is scheduled to accompany her husband’s remains to Valvettithurai.
Prabhakaran`s father served in the Sri Lankan government for 39 years, beginning his career as a clerk at the Ceylon Government Railways in 1943.
He received several promotions, retiring as Land Officer of the Land Settlement Department in 1982. Prabhakaran was killed by the military in Nanthikadal lagoon in Mullaitivu on May 18 last year.
Prabhakaran`s father married Vallipuram Parupathipillai (born on August 7, 1931) and had two sons and a daughter.
The "mild-mannered" Velupillai never endorsed the militant ways of his son and was not even on talking terms with him for a long period, a media report had claimed recently.
`The LTTE leader`s father was a duty conscious mild-mannered gentleman well-respected and well-liked. People of Valvettithurai (where Prabhakaran hailed from) used to say that even the grass wouldn`t get crushed when Velupillai treads on it,` the Daily Mirror newspaper had reported.
`In fact, the father disapproved of the son`s path and was not on speaking terms with Prabhakaran for years and years,` the newspaper had said in an earlier report.
Prabhakaran`s family, which hailed from the coastal town of Valvettithurai in Jaffna district, generally referred as VVT, was of respected lineage, it said.
His ancestors had constructed the famous Sivan temple of VVT. His father should have been the chief trustee of the temple but declined to be so as he was in government service, the newspaper had said.
PTI
