KOCHI: The ongoing probe into the murder of liquor baron and hotelier ‘Mithila’ Mohan has taken a new turn with the investigators now suspecting the involvement of Tamil Tiger rebels(LTTE) in the case. The Crime Branch on Wednesday informed the Kerala High Court the accused in the murder - Mathivanan and Uppali - hailed from Sri Lanka and had alleged ties with the LTTE.
According to the Crime Branch, third accused Mathivanan had told first accused Santhosh Kumar he and Uppali belonged to Vedaranyam lighthouse at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. However, on cross checking the details it emerged there are two lighthouses situated there. One is situated in the middle of the dense forest with virtually no inhabitation. On being shown the images of Mathivanan and Uppali, the residents of Kodiyekkara said Mathivanan had an uncanny resemblance with persons of Lankan origin. Incidentally, Kodiyekkara and the lighthouse are situated on the sea shore from where it takes barely 20 minutes to reach Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka on speedboat.
K M Sabu Mathew, SP, Crime Branch, Ernakulam submitted LTTE militants were quite active in the Kodiyekkara area in 2006. One building which was used by the LTTE there is still there though in a dilapidated condition. Before the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the LTTE militant camp was very active there and it was learnt the extremists there had faced a serious financial crisis in 2006.
Mithila Mohan aka ‘Mohi’ was shot dead at his Vennala residence here on April 5, 2006. During 2006, the LTTE militants were engaged in the smuggling of weapons and drugs through Kodiyekkara to Sri Lanka. While hatching the plot to bump off Mohan, the first accused had given strict instructions to Pandiyan the hired assailants should not be familiar to the spirit lobby in Kerala.
Moreover, the killers should not belong to the areas located along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Santhosh also wanted the victim to be shot dead. Thus it took Pandiyan about two months to list out Mathivanan and Uppali.
In 2006, one Mohan alias ‘Ceylon’ Mohan, who belongs to Sri Lanka, was active in Pandiyan’s gang. Hence, there was every chance for Pandiyan to hire the quotation gang from Lanka through ‘Ceylon’ Mohan. Later, ‘Ceylon’ Mohan was killed by C D Mani, a known criminal from Tamil Nadu.
By the time Pandiyan’s role in the case came to light - he alone could spill the beans on Mathivanan and Uppali - the former had been gunned down by the TN Police.
During the inquiry, it emerged there was no person called Uppali with criminal antecedents in Tamil Nadu.
Heinous crimes
In 2006, one Mohan alias ‘Ceylon’ Mohan, who belongs to Sri Lanka, was active in Pandiyan’s gang. Hence, there was every chance for Pandiyan to hire the quotation gang from Lanka through ‘Ceylon’ Mohan. Later, ‘Ceylon’ Mohan was killed by C D Mani, a known criminal from Tamil Nadu.