Decade old MDMA term may end; CBI may be asked to continue

Sumir Kaul
New Delhi, June 28 (PTI) The decade-old
Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) -— probing the
conspiracy angle behind former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi’s assassination -- may be wound up as the Government is
unlikely to accept Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI)
demand for another extension reasoning that the agency was
competent enough to deal with the case.

The CBI had sent a proposal to the Union Home Ministry
seeking another extension of MDMA, which was set up in 1998 by
the NDA government on the recommendations of Jain Commission
to further look into the leads thrown during the enquiry into
the Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991.

Highly-placed sources in the Government said that a close
scrutiny of the MDMA work showed that no headway has been made
in any of the countries where Letters Rogatory were sent
seeking information including that of financial transactions
of suspected Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) men.

The sources said the Ministry officials were also of the
same opinion as that of some of the senior CBI officials who
had favoured winding up of the MDMA.

"What is MDMA? One officer functioning as MDMA official
in morning and CBI official in the afternoon," quipped a Home
Ministry official.

The term of MDMA, which is headed by a CBI official and
comprises officers from IB, RAW and Revenue Intelligence,
ended on May 31 this year and the CBI is expecting a
post-facto approval.

The officials argue that the work of MDMA could be well
handled by the CBI, which could be mandated to carry on the
investigation into the case.

The Jain Commission had come across various leads which
included bank transactions of the LTTE's frontal outfits
before and after the assassination and on movement of arms
meant for LTTE during that period.

The bank transactions included those in the now-defunct
Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

The links of key accused Sivarasan — who was found dead
on the outskirts of Bangalore — as well as the role of
controversial Godman Chandraswami were also recommended for
further investigation.

At least 50 bank transactions allegedly at the behest of
Chandraswami have been found so far and the Government feels
that further probe could be conducted by the CBI.

Since the MDMA was set up, it has sent Letters Rogatory
to 23 countries to enable the probe, but only five have
responded so far.

The main impediment for the CBI was that several
countries -- including Germany, Australia, Switzerland and the
Netherlands -- demanded an undertaking that the death penalty
would not be imposed or carried out against any such person.

The MDMA has also been focusing on bank details of LTTE
financier Kumaran Padmanathan alias 'KP'. India has taken up
the matter with Germany to get the bank details of KP, who is
alleged to be a major gun-runner for the terrorist group.

The investigators want to know the bank details of KP and
some more people, including some Indians who were alleged to
have hatched the conspiracy to kill Gandhi.

The former prime minister was assassinated on May 21,
1991 when an LTTE suicide bomber blew herself up at an
election rally in Tamil Nadu.

KP is believed to be 'the chief arms procurer' for the
LTTE and also in-charge of collection of finances for the
banned outfit outside Sri Lanka.

Two commissions of inquiry were set up to probe Rajiv
Gandhi's murder. While the Justice JS Verma Commission had
probed the aspect of security lapses, the Jain Commission
investigated the conspiracy angle. PTI