Sundaram Sri Sabaratnam ( ta, சிறி சபாரத்தினம்; 28 August 1952 – 6 May 1986) was a
Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leader of the
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), a
separatist Tamil militant organisation in
Sri Lanka.
Early life
Sabaratnam was born on 28 August 1952.
Whilst in government custody between 1972 and 1975 his jailer nicknamed him "Tall Sri" to differentiate him from another Sri in custody.
Neervely bank robbery
On 25 March 1981 a
People's Bank van returning to
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...
after collecting cash in
Vadamarachchi was robbed of
Rs.
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
8 million on the Jaffna-Point Pedro Road in
Neervely.
N. Thangavelu (alias
Thangadurai), S. Yogachandran (alias
Kuttimani), Selvadurai Sivasubramaniam (alias Devan), Navaratnarah (Nadarajah) Sivapatham (alias Sivapalan Master) and Vythilingam Nadesathasan (Nadesudasan) were arrested and charged in connection with the robbery.
Sabaratnam was charged in absentia.
[ The trial at Colombo High Court commenced on 2 November 1982 and on 24 February 1983 all six defendants were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.][
Sabaratnam became leader of TELO after the killing of Thangathurai and Kuttimani during the ]Welikada prison massacre
The Welikada Prison Massacre took place during the 1983 Black July pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamil minority in Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the exec ...
in July 1983.
Death
In April 1986 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(LTTE) banned TELO and set about killing its leader Sri Sabaratnam.Kopay
Kopay ( ta, கோப்பாய், translit=Kōppāy) is a town about 4 km from the city of Jaffna along Point Pedro road. An agricultural town consisting mainly of vegetable farms, paddy fields and coconut gardens. The suburb Kopay is b ...
and finally to Kondavil.Kittu
''Kittu'' ( te, కిట్టు) is a 2006 traditionally animated Indian feature film. It is the first animated film to be made in the Telugu language. It won the National Film Award and is also credited with AP state award (Nandi Award) as ...
, cordoned off the area and started a house-to-house search, using loud hailers to warn local residents not to shelter Sabaratnam.[ On 6 May 1986 the LTTE discovered Sabaratnam in a tobacco field and Kittu shot him in the leg to prevent him escaping.][ Sabaratnam's bullet ridden body was displayed at Kondavil bus stand before being handed over to his family.][
]
Notes
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabaratnam, Sri
1952 births
1986 deaths
Fugitives wanted by Sri Lanka
Male murder victims
People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka
People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan Tamil rebels
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization militants