Shanmuganathan Ravishankar
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Shanmuganathan Ravishankar ( ''Caṇmukanātaṉ Ravicaṅkar''; died 5 January 2008; commonly known by the nom de guerre Charles) was a leading member of the TOSIS, the intelligence wing of
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...
(LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. Ravishankar was from
Point Pedro Point Pedro, also known as Paruthithurai (; ) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. I ...
. He joined the LTTE in December 1985, whilst still at school, and took on the
nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
Charles. His first duty was to be a sentry near Point Pedro army camp after school. He abandoned his education in 1987. He then worked in a shop run by the LTTE. Charles' first armed combat was in May 1987 during the Vadamarachchi Operation (Operation Liberation) in which the
Sri Lankan military The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...
recaptured most of
Vadamarachchi Vadamarachchi ( Vaṭamarāṭci, ) is one of the three historic regions of the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Thenmarachchi and Valikamam. Alternative spellings include Vadamarachi, Vadamaraachi or Vadamaraadchi. ...
. He took part in the LTTE's retaliatory attack on the army camp at
Nelliady Central College Nelliady Central College ( ''Nelliyaṭi Mattiya kalloori'', also known as Nelliady Madhya Maha Vidyalayam) is a national school in Nelliady, Sri Lanka. History The school was founded in 1921. It was promoted to Madhya Maha Vidyalayam status i ...
on 5 July 1987. Charles then served under Captain Morris, the LTTE's commander for Point Pedro, taking part in operations against the
Indian Peace Keeping Force Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lanka ...
(IPKF). Charles then served in Manal Aru before returning to
Jaffna peninsula The Jaffna Peninsula (, or ) is a region in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna, and comprises much of the former land mass of the medieval Jaffna Kingdom. The peninsula was historically ...
. He was the LTTE's commander for Vadamarachchi when the IPKF withdrew to India in 1990. Charles was introduced to the LTTE's
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...
head Pottu Amman by his body guard Kili. Pottu Amman chose Charles to prepare a base in southern Sri Lanka for attacks. Charles and some other intelligence operatives were sent to
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
in early 1990. He returned to the north after war broke out again between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military in June 1990. The LTTE then received intelligence that Deputy Defence Minister
Ranjan Wijeratne General Ranjan Wijeratne (4 April 1931 – 2 March 1991) was a Sri Lankan planter and politician. He served in the Premadasa cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Minister of Plantation Industries, while holding the office of Stat ...
and the Joint Operations Command were planning to assassinate LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran as he and his wife Mathivathani were praying at the Nallur Kandaswamy temple in
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
. Charles was sent back to Colombo in January 1991 to deliver the LTTE's response to the assassination plot. Wijeratne was
assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
on 2 March 1991 and the Joint Operations Command building was blown up on 22 June 1991. Charles is alleged to have taken part in both attacks. He is also alleged to have taken part in the assassinations of Clancy Fernando (16 November 1992);
Lalith Athulathmudali Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali, PC (; 26 November 1936 – 23 April 1993), known as Lalith Athulathmudali, was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a prominent member of the United National Party, who served as Minister of Trade and Sh ...
(23 April 1993); President
Ranasinghe Premadasa Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa''; ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the third President of Sri Lanka from 2 January 1989 unt ...
(1 May 1993); and
Gamini Dissanayake Dissanayake Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Lionel Gamini Dissanayake, PC (known as Gamini Dissanayake; ,; 20 March 1942 – 24 October 1994) was a prominent Sri Lankan politician, a powerful minister of the United National Party, and Leader of the Op ...
,
Ossie Abeygunasekera Ahangama Withanage Oswin Nandimithra Abeyagoonasekera (known as ''Ossie Abeygunasekera''; died 1994) was a member of Parliament and chairman and the leader of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya or Party. He was assassinated by a female suicide b ...
, Weerasinghe Mallimarachchi,
G. M. Premachandra Gamlath Mohottige Premachandra (24 August 1940 – 24 October 1994) was a Sri Lanka politician who served as the Cabinet Minister of Labour and Vocational Training of United National Party government from 1990 to 1994. He was re-elected f ...
and Gamini Wijesekara (24 October 1994). He is also alleged to have taken part in the attacks on the Kolonnawa fuel storage complex (20 October 1995) and Kelanithissa power plant (14 November 1997). Charles is alleged to have masterminded the Central Bank bombing on 31 January 1996. Prabhakaran is alleged to have given Charles a
Mitsubishi Pajero The Further information on the Mitsubishi P ...
as a reward for the Central Bank attack. By now, Charles had earned a fearsome reputation as TOSIS' deadliest field agent. After the Sri Lankan authorities became aware of his presence in Colombo, Charles moved to the East, serving as the LTTE's intelligence head in Batticaloa-Ampara between 1997 and 2000. During this time he is alleged to have masterminded the assassinations of Neelan Tiruchelvam (29 July 1999); Lucky Algama (8 December 1999); and C. V. Gunaratne (7 June 2000). He is also believed to have been behind the unsuccessful assassination attempt on President
Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (; ; born 29 June 1945), commonly referred to by her initials CBK, is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, President of Sri Lanka from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. ...
on 18 December 1999. He led the successful commando raid on
Bandaranaike International Airport Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA airport code, IATA: CMB, ICAO airport code, ICAO: VC ...
on 24 July 2001, which caused damage to SLAF and to the airport. After the 2002 ceasefire Charles started expanding the LTTE's intelligence network in the Colombo region, particularly Sinhalese members of the police and armed forces. He is also worked to eliminate members of Tamil paramilitary groups and Tamils spying for the Sri Lankan authorities. In 2004 he was made head of the newly created Military Intelligence Wing of the LTTE. He is alleged to have been behind the Habarana bombing (16 October 2006) and attack on Galle Harbour (18 October 2006). He took part in gathering intelligence about the Anuradhapura air base prior to it being attacked on 22 October 2007. He was later placed in charge of all external operations and made commander of a special combat unit in
Mannar District Mannar District ( ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Governm ...
.


Death

In early 2008 Charles was assisting
Sea Tigers The Sea Tigers (Tamil: கடற்புலிகள் ''Kaţaṛpulikaḷ'') was the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was founded in 1984. The Sea Tigers had a number of small but ...
leader
Soosai Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan (; 16 October 1963 – 18 May 2009), also known by his ''nom de guerre'', Colonel Soosai, was the head of the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Personal life Thillaiyampalam Sivan ...
fortify the Sea Tiger base at Vidattaltivu,
Mannar District Mannar District ( ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Governm ...
. Lieutenant Colonel Charles and three other LTTE members were killed on 5 January 2008 by a
claymore mine The Claymore mine is a directional anti-personnel mine developed for the United States Armed Forces. Its inventor, Norman MacLeod, named the mine after a claymore, large medieval Scottish sword. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore may ...
placed by the Army's
Deep Penetration Unit The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) ( Sinhala: දිගු දුර විහිදුම් බලකාය ''Digu Dura Vihidum Balakaya'') is a Covert Operation unit of Sri Lanka Army. This unit is also known as the Deep Penetration U ...
(LRRP) as they travelled in van between Iluppaikkadavai and Pallamadu in Mannar District. There were conflicting reports about his age - the Sri Lankan military claimed he was 35 whilst others reported that he was 43. His remains were buried in the LTTE's heroes cemetery at Kanakapuram,
Kilinochchi District Kilinochchi District ( ''Kiḷinocci Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previo ...
.


References


External links


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Year of birth missing 2008 deaths Landmine victims Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People killed during the Sri Lankan civil war Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Sri Lankan Tamil people Indian Peace Keeping Force