The early 1980s saw a huge influx of refugees from northern Sri Lanka into Tamil Nadu. Tamil militants, too, made clandestine trips following the crackdown by the Sri Lankan Army. The militant groups were known for their internecine rivalries. The first sign of the fallout was the shoot-out between Prabhakaran, chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Uma Maheswaran, alias Mukundan, leader of People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) in Madras in May 1982.
The incident shocked the local population that had not seen such an incident in public. It also highlighted the fact that the militant groups had chosen Tamil Nadu not only as a sanctuary from where they could continue their struggle against the Sri Lankan government but also as an arena to settle scores among themselves, recalled K. Mohandas, former Director-General of Police (Intelligence), in his affidavit before the Jain Commission, which probed the conspiracy aspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Returning from cinema
On the evening of May 19, 1982, Prabhakaran and his associate Ragavan, alias Sivakumar, went to see the film, Thottal Sudum, at Rajakumari Theatre at T. Nagar. Then they had dinner at Rahmania Hotel at Pondy Bazaar. At 9.45 p.m., they were walking west when they saw their friend-turned-foe Uma Maheswaran and his associate Jotheeswaran, alias Kannan, near Geetha Cafe.
They opened fire with their unlicensed revolvers at Jotheeswaran and Uma Maheswaran. Jotheeswaran sustained bullet injuries in the thighs, while Uma Maheswaran escaped unhurt. Uma Maheswaran was the chairman of the LTTE’s central committee from 1977 to 1980. He fell out with Prabhakaran, left the organisation, and founded PLOTE.
Later, Prabhakaran himself explained in a statement to the Mambalam police, “I am Karikalan [his nom de guerre] belonging to the LTTE. We are waging a struggle for our mother nation Eelam. We saw them some 20 feet away. On seeing us, Jotheeswaran opened his hand bag and took out a revolver. I also took the revolver from my waist and fired five rounds. Jotheeswaran also fired at me, but the bullets missed me. Uma Maheswaran took to his heels. We had to run as members of the public chased us. We told them that we had no issue with them and asked them not to panic. But they and policemen closed in on us and caught us.” His .38 Webley revolver was seized by the police.
Prabhakaran and Ragavan were arrested and kept at the Mambalam police station. A case (Cr. No.1174/82) was registered at the Mambalam station. Later, they were lodged at the Madras Central Prison. This was the first time Prabhakaran’s facial identity came to be known to the world. Until then, the Sri Lankan authorities were looking for him with a passport-size photo taken when he was 15.
Another case filed
On May 25, 1982, Uma Maheswaran was arrested near the Gummidipoondi railway station. At the time of his arrest, he opened fire with his revolver; hence, another case was registered against him under the Arms Act. All the accused remained in judicial custody till August 5, 1982, when they were released on conditional bail.
Prabhakaran was staying with K.S. Radhakrishnan, an advocate and State general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Kamaraj Congress, led by Pazha Nedumaran, in a house on Salai Street at Mylapore. Recalling the day of the arrest, Mr. Radhakrishnan said, “We used to watch movies together and Prabhakaran showed much interest in watching movies on war and social issues. Since I had to prepare for a case for the next day. I did not go with him. Prabhakaran told me that he was going to the cinema at Pondy Bazaar. Around 10 p.m., I received a call from the Mambalam police station. The officer concerned asked me whether any naxalite from Sri Lanka was staying with me. They were detained at the station as they exchanged fire. Then I told the police officer that they were functionaries of the LTTE and not naxalites. Then, I quickly reached the station and learnt what had happened.” “When I asked Prabhakaran why he pulled out the weapon, he replied that he had to use the weapon since the other side opened fire first. He also said they were killing our men on our soil [Sri Lanka],” said Mr. Radhakrishnan.
Bid for extradition
The Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Madras was informed about the incident. Mohandas, the then DGP, recalled in the affidavit that soon after the shoot-out and the subsequent arrest, M.K. Narayanan, Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau, flew from New Delhi to Madras and requested him to go slow on the action against the militants. He met Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran and made the same plea. Prabhakaran and Uma Maheswaran were proclaimed offenders by the Sri Lankan government. Sri Lankan IG(P) Rudra Rajasinghe visited New Delhi for getting Prabhakaran and Uma Maheswaran extradited. But he failed in his efforts as there was no extradition treaty between the two countries.
An all-party meeting, convened by Mr. Nedumaran, urged the Chief Minister to stop their deportation. Subsequently, the idea of deporting them was dropped. On July 4, the CB-CID filed a charge sheet in the court of the Additional Metropolitan Magistrate against Prabhakaran, Raghavan, and others.
On August 5, they were released by the Madras High Court on conditional bail. The court ordered Prabhakaran to stay in Madurai, Raghavan in Pudukottai, and Uma Maheswaran in Madras until further orders.
After some time, Prabhakaran and Raghavan jumped bail. While Prabhakaran was travelling in a bus to Chennai from Madurai, two armed police personnel escorted him. He diverted their attention and managed to escape with four men of LTTE who were readily positioned in a motel on the highway near Tiruchi. They proceeded in a boat to Sri Lanka.
In November 2012, 30 years after the shoot-out, the VII Additional Sessions Court dropped the charges on the ground that they were dead. While Prabhakaran was killed in an army operation in May 2009, Uma Maheswaran was assassinated in Colombo in 1989.
