Former LTTE commander Nadarajah Mathinthiran alias Parithi was shot dead by unknown assailants in Paris on Thursday evening. He was 49.
According to sources, Mathinthiran was shot at least thrice after he came out of the headquarters of the Tamil Coordination Committee in France (CCTF), an organisation regarded as a front for what remains of the Tigers, and reached a nearby bus stand.
He was coordinating the political activities of Tamil organisations in France since 2003. Mathinthiran was given with the nom de guerre, Reagon, when he joined the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in 1983. He was part of the second batch of LTTE members who received military training provided by India, news website Tamilnet claimed.
He was under arrest in France for raising funds for the LTTE between 2007 and 2010. Mathinthiran had narrowly escaped from a gang that had attacked him with swords on Halloween day last year at the same site, according to Tamilnet.
“Parithi had dedicated his life for the welfare of Eelam Tamils in Eelam and in France. I am grieved at his demise. I extend my condolences to his family and friends,” DMK chief Karunanidhi said in a statement.
Karunanidhi said Mathinthiran had come to Chennai in 1990 for treatment, when he was injured. MDMK founder Vaiko said, “in the death of Mathinthiran, Eelam has lost a hero.”