Rajiv Gandhi assassination accused and ex-LTTE leader KP escapes from Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: Kumaran Pathmanathan, or KP, an LTTE leader wanted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, is said to have fled from Colombo to either China or Pakistan -- countries that were favourable to the erstwhile regime -- with alleged assistance from Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brother of the former Sri Lankan President. Fearing that he would be handed over to India following the change of guard in Colombo, KP left the country with the help of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, hours after Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat in the presidential election, Indian government sources told ET.

KP may have expected persecution by the new Lankan government, which is friendly towards India, sources claimed. KP was the chief arms procurer for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during its heyday and operated largely out of Thailand and Malaysia. He was also in charge of the LTTE’s international liaisons with state and nonstate entities.

The former Rajapaksa regime had warm political and strategic ties with both China and Pakistan, sources pointed out. India does not have any strong security partnership with either Beijing or Islamabad and it is unlikely that either of them would hand over a figure like KP to India. Also, with an Interpol notice active against KP in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, shifting to any country friendly with India would have been risky for him.

A source said KP could be an asset for some sections in Pakistan. Recently, Pakistani High Commission officials in Colombo came under the scanner for abetting terror in southern India following the arrest of a Sri Lankan national in Chennai. Sources said India had informally requested the then Rajapaksa government to hand over KP but that regime rehabilitated him after he was extradited from Malaysia in August 2009, four months after the war with the LTTE ended.

“KP had reached a deal with the Rajapaksa regime where money also allegedly changed hands. He became an acolyte of Gotabaya and established links with the Sri Lankan intelligence agencies. KP led a good life in Colombo since 2009,” a source claimed. Gotabaya used such figures to eliminate all remnants of the LTTE, a source from Colombo said.