Ex-LTTE man detained in Pune for travelling with fake passport

Pune: A Sri Lankan national, who was allegedly a member of LTTE, was detained by the immigration officials at the Pune Airport on Thursday while he was about to board a flight to Germany using a fake Indian passport.

Suthan Suppiah (37) was detained when he was about to board Lufthansa flight early on Thursday morning, said a police officer.

The officer said that during the interrogation by ATS officials, Intelligence Bureau, and the immigration, he confessed that he hailed from Trinuvelli East in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. However, his passport was in the name of Marimuthu Raju, a resident of Alangottai in Tamil Nadu.ATS officials, Intelligence Bureau and the immigration, he confessed that he hailed from Trinuvelli East in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. However, his passport was in the name of Marimuthu Raju, a resident of Alangottai in Tamil Nadu.

He told IB officials that he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from 2003 to 2005 and served as a sentry for the terrorist outfit which was defeated by the Sri Lankan Army in 2009.

After leaving LTTE in 2005, he trained as a mechanic and electrician in Jaffna, and later shifted to Dubai where he worked as a salesman at a mall before returning to Sri Lanka in December 2014.

"In June 2015, he went to Chennai on a tourist visa but did not return. In Chennai, he got an opportunity to work with a German firm, so through a local agent, Suppiah obtained a fake passport in the name of Marimuthu Raju. He was about to leave for Germany from Pune airport today," said the police officer.

With his LTTE background, he could be under the scanner in Sri Lanka, and as some countries have banned entry of Sri Lankan nationals who have LTTE background, he might have decided to use a fake passport, the officer added.

However, no case has been registered against him yet, Pune police said.