The Sri Lankan military is probing the possibility that the Tamil Tiger's spy chief may still be alive, despite testimony that he was killed with the rest of the rebel leadership. "The military is still investigating Tiger intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman's death as they could not find his body among the top level Tiger leaders," the state-run Sunday Observer said.
Amman was seen as the number two in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) hierarchy after rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and was believed to have masterminded the 1991 assassination of Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi. The newspaper, which reflects government policy, said the military had testimony from a surrendered Tiger cadre who claimed that the spy leader had been killed before the final battle in which Prabhakaran perished. However, no body was ever found.
Amman is the subject of an international arrest warrant for the Gandhi slaying as well as the 1996 bombing of the Sri Lankan Central Bank, which killed 91 people.