Prabhakaran's body was identified by birth marks, scars:Report

T V Sriram

Colombo, May 27 (PTI) Slain LTTE supremo Velupillai
Prabhakaran's body was identified by his two former aides with
the help of certain scars and birth marks.

Federal Minister Vinayagamoorthi Muralidaran, alias
Karuna Amman, one time close confidante of Prabhakaran, and
Daya Master, the former LTTE media spokesman who had
surrendered recently, identified the Tiger supremo's body
after he was killed on May 18.

"They identified and confirmed that the body recovered
was that of Prabhakaran. Certain scars and birth marks had
helped them in identification. Thus, the Army was able to
squash all rumours regarding Prabhakaran being alive," the
'Bottomline' newspaper said.

Prabhakaran was killed by commandos, who only collect the
personal weapons of the slain terrorists and not their bodies
as a rule. They then produce the arms before their Commanding
officers (COs) or Brigade Commanders, the newspaper said.

On the evening of May 18, a commando handed over to his
CO, a pistol and a hip holster, the mid-week newspaper said.
The pistol carried the inscription T.V.P 001, raising
suspicion that it belonged to Prabhakaran.

T.V.P 001 means Thamil Vidudalai Puligal (Tamil
Liberation Tigers) and Military Intelligence confirmed that it
was indeed Prabhakaran's pistol, the newspaper said.

Karuna Amman and Daya Master were then brought to the
scene to identify Prabhakaran's body.

About Prabhakaran's family, the newspaper noted that
there were rumours that his wife, younger son and daughter too
had been killed during the final battles.

However, an officer from the battlefront said they had
not recovered any bodies of children, it said.

"When intelligence agents interrogated a close aide of
Prabhakaran, he had said that, last year, Prabhakaran's wife
(Mathivathani) and younger son Balachandran had escaped by
boat to Tamil Nadu, where they were to meet with an LTTE cadre
who was to arrange for them to fly to Singapore, from there to
an unknown destination," the newspaper reported.

"Prabhakaran's daughter, Duwarka, who was said to be
studying in Ireland, during the height of the final battle,
hadn't returned to Sri Lanka, but had been in touch with her
father via phone, revealed a credible source from Norway," it
said.

"She (Prabhakaran's daughter) had arrived in Oslo as
instructed by her father, as there were many to take care of
her there," the Bottomline said.

According to Karuna, a spokesman for LTTE's International
Relations head S Pathmanathan had told him that Tiger
supremo's wife and daughter were dead.

Karuna was the LTTE commander of the Eastern region
before he fell out with Prabhakaran in 2004.

"But I cannot confirm this personally... If they
(Prabhakaran's family) were in the No Fire Zone, they could
not have escaped," Karuna said in Vavuniya yesterday.

The slain Tiger supremo's wife and daughter were earlier
believed to have fled to Europe as the conflict intensified in
Sri Lanka's north.

Sri Lankan army has neither found their bodies nor
mentioned much about them.

The whereabouts of Prabhakaran's 13-year-old son
Balachandran are also not known while LTTE chief's elder son
Charles Anthony was killed and his body found in the No Fire
Zone. PTI TVS
RKM