LTTE supremo may have fled: Lankan Army chief

As Sri Lankan troops advance towards the last Tiger bastion of Mullaittivu, Army chief Sarath Fonseka has said he was not sure whether Velupillai Prabhakaran was in the island nation but felt that it was not possible for the LTTE supremo to find a shelter in India.

"Well, I am not sure whether he is in Sri Lanka. There are ways to escape. But it is not possible for Prabhakaran to have gone to India. He will not be permitted there," Fonseka told a group of Journalists here on Saturday evening.

Prabhakaran is wanted by New Delhi in connection with the 1991 murder of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and also listed by the European Union and United States as a terrorist organisation.

The Lankan Air Force had destroyed a vessel carrying arms and ammunitions for the LTTE just when it was being offloaded in the rebel coastal area, Fonseka said adding, this showed the rebels were still trying to smuggle things in and out of the country.

"Why can't Prabhakaran also have tried to escape in this fashion with suicide crafts around him. But we are keeping a close watch," he said.

According to a newspaper report, Prabhakaran lives in a sprawling air-conditioned bunker complex, located over 30 feet below the ground, and comes up to the surface only in the night to avoid detection.

Fonseka had earlier said that the 54-year-old Prabhakaran, who was dealt a stunning blow after the fall of Killinochchi and Elephant Pass, was hiding in the key Tiger bastion of Mullaittivu, a coastal town.