ter JayawardhanaOne reason All India Congress Committee Secretary Rahul Gandhi conducted his Southern India trip recently by costly air trips was the threat posed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)assassins , the Indian intelligence services have indicated.
The Hindu newspaper said that the heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty avoided land travelling and flew helicopters and fixed wing aircraft costing the party ten million Rupees was due to the intelligence reports which said the LTTE wanted to avenge India's support to Sri Lanka which ended the existence of the terrorist group as a military force in the island nation last May. LTTE operatives still exist in other countries.
The Hindu report said," Further, reports of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) indicated the movement of a suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadre and a sympathiser along the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu."
The other security concern during this trip was the Lakshar E-Taiba terrorist group. The Hindu report said, "Citing reports of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the police official said a handful of top Sikh militants and cadres of the Lashkar-e-Taiba met at an undisclosed destination in Pakistan recently and allegedly decided to target Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani, and Mr.(Rahul) Gandhi."
The Hindu report said due to the fixed wing air craft and helicopters used in this trip more than 10 million Rupees had to be spent.
The Hindu report further said: "A senior police official, when contacted, said Mr. Gandhi's movement by road was restricted to the extent possible in Tamil Nadu. Foolproof security arrangements were imperative in the backdrop of heightened threat to the VVIP perceived by Central and State intelligence agencies.
"Besides having in place a three-tier security shield for Rahul Gandhi, who is also protected by the elite Special Protection Group (SPG), the State police chalked out an elaborate scheme for his protection based on specific inputs."
Rahul Gandhi's father former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at Siriperumbudur near Chennai India.
Source: Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits
Sri Lanka LTTE Terrorism Tamil Nadu India
Putting principles before profits
Sri Lanka LTTE Terrorism Tamil Nadu India
