Zeenews Bureau
Colombo: The Indian High Commission in Colombo on Monday dismissed reports in a section of the Sri Lankan media that suggested the existence of LTTE-training camps in Tamil Nadu.
“The suggestion contained in the news item regarding the training of terrorists at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu, India is entirely erroneous and baseless. Relevant agencies of the two countries have ongoing cooperation and no such information has been brought to the notice of the Government of India,” a release from the High Commission said.
The statement came after a Sri Lankan newspaper, Divaina, claimed that around 150 ‘terrorists’ have returned to the island after receiving training in Tamil Nadu.
According to the report, Sri Lanka police intelligence wing came to know about the terrorists while the questioning of three suspects held for the murder of a member of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).
Ragunathan was found with his throat slit on March 17. A note was found on the body, which said ‘they had given death penalty to a traitor and have resumed their work’.
According to the report, the suspects tried to flee to India after the incident, but failed when police arrested them.
As per the newspaper, it was during the interrogation that the suspects revealed that they received training in Tamil Nadu and were sent to Sri Lanka in the garb of fishermen to destabilise the North and East regions.
The report also said the suspects were former LTTE cadres who reached Tamil Nadu via sea routes after the end of the war. The suspects have reportedly told the police about receiving an arms training at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu.
India’s ties with Sri Lanka were strained post New Delhi’s vote in favour of a US-sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution censuring Colombo for alleged rights violations during the war against LTTE.
First Published: Monday, April 02, 2012, 16:47