KOCHI: A Sri Lankan with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) links and convicted for involvement in former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, has been made a witness in connection with the seizure of a large quantity of drugs, AK 47s, and ammunition from a fishing boat off the Kerala coast in March 2021. Robert Pious’ statement was discussed when the bail petition of prime accused Suresh Raj A, aka Katta Suresh, a Sri Lankan national who stayed at Kundrathur, Chennai, was considered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court, Kochi, recently.
The case pertains to a Sri Lankan fishing boat, Ravihansi, that was intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard on the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast. It resulted in the recovery of over 300kg of heroin, five AK-47 rifles and 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition from six Sri Lankan nationals on board in March 2021. Suresh was first detained, along with his brother who was staying at a place near Aluva, by the Tamil Nadu Q-branch in another case. The NIA had filed a chargesheet against 23 persons, a majority of them Sri Lankans.
Pious and wife came to Tamil Nadu from Jaffna in 1990, seeking political asylum. Arrested by CBI’s special investigation team after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991, he was awarded a life sentence for playing a part in the conspiracy and aiding mastermind Sivarasan and suicide bomber Dhanu. Last year, he was released from jail.
While hearing Suresh’s bail application, which was later dismissed, the court considered statements given by several witnesses and protected witnesses including some former LTTE members. The court also went through the statement given by Pious, listed as the 74th witness. Soundarajan, another seizure-case accused arrested by NIA and later turned approver, stated his connection with Pious. Yet another witness, Karthik, deposed to NIA about his meeting with Pious. In the order dismissing the bail petition of Suresh, the court discussed the statement of Pious: “Chief witness 74 Robert Pious, according to his statement under 161 CrPC, also speaks about the association of accused Suresh with Satgunam and with the proscribed organisation LTTE.”
Besides Pious, several witnesses in the case gave statements that Suresh Raj and Satgunam had held a meeting to revive LTTE. Soundarajan, in his statement, told NIA that he participated in a secret meeting, also attended by Satgunam, at Suresh Raj’s house in November 2019. “In that meeting, plans were discussed to rebuild the LTTE.
The witness also speaks about his as well as Suresh Raj’s association with LTTE. The statement speaks about how these transactions are operated involving all these persons, the details of the drug mafia, and how persons including the present accused helped Madhush from Sri Lanka to reach India. The confession statement also mentions the source of money and the arms,” stated the court order.