National Investigation Agency chargesheets 14th accused in LTTE revival case

An NIA statement here said the chargesheet was filed on Saturday evening before the Special Court for NIA cases/Sessions Court for exclusive trials of Bomb Blast cases at Poonamallee here by the NIA Kochi branch.

Lingam A alias Adilingam is the 14th accused to be chargesheeted in the case, in which 16 people have been arraigned as accused so far.

Adilingam has been charged with conspiring and acting to revive the proscribed terrorist organisation through illegal trade in narcotic drugs and arms.

He had also acted as an agent for the collection of hawala money obtained from the sale of narcotic drugs, which were being further distributed to promote LTTE activities.

In the supplementary chargesheet filed before the court, the agency has elaborated on the role of Adilingam in the entire conspiracy.

The chargesheet reveals that the accused was working as Production Executive in the Tamil film industry while he was clandestinely working as a key operative of the major LTTE leaders/cadres and drug traffickers, including Gunasekaran and his son Thilipan, both citizens of Sri Lanka.

Earlier, on June 15, 2023, the NIA had filed a chargesheet before the Special Court against 13 accused, charging them with hatching conspiracies in various parts of Tamil Nadu to carry out terrorist activities and drug trafficking in the territorial waters of the Indian Ocean.

One such case was registered and investigated by the NIA Kochi Branch following the seizure of a huge consignment, intercepted by central agencies in 2021. The consignment consisted of over 300 kgs of heroin, five AK-47 rifles and 1,000 rounds of Pakistan-made ammunition.

(With UNI inputs)