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Lankan court to try Prabhakaran in absentia

Velupillai Prabhakaran and seven other leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will be tried in absentia for bombing Sri Lanka's Central Bank in 1996, according to The Island newspaper.

The Colombo high court order came in the wake of prosecution's submission that Prabhakaran was living in areas which are not under the control of the Sri Lankan army.

Prabhakaran and seven other accomplices were indicted for bombing the Central Bank in 1996 that killed 78 people and wounded 1,400 others.

The court, on January 26 this year, issued a warrant to take the accused into custody. But the case could not proceed as the Sri Lankan CID, in its report to the court, stated that the accused could not be arrested, for they were living in areas outside the army's control.

The CID sought assistance from several agencies but failed to get vital information about the accused. However, further investigation revealed that the seven rebels were at present in Mannar and Vanni areas.

Prabhakaran has already been awarded the capital punishment by a court in India for involvement in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 199.

UNI

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