FBI officers in Sri Lanka to meet the Divaina Defence Secretary

Thursday, 18 April 2013 

Officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US investigating into the Boston bomb blast are to visit Sri Lanka to meet Divaina journalist Keerthi Warnakulasuriya, who is known as the Defence Secretary of the Divaina newspaper, sources from the newspaper said.

The FBI officers are to visit the country to meet him following a story published by him in the Divaina newspaper today (18) that it is 'Al Qaeda that is responsible for the Boston bomb blast'. Investigations into the bomb blast has revealed that it was a low quality domestically manufactured explosive. However, Keerthi Warnakulasuriya alias ‘Geneva Jagath’ has confirmed that it is Al Qaeda that is responsible for the bomb blast . Since Keerthi Warnakulasruiya has shown great competence in investigating the bomb blast from Sri Lanka than the FBI, it is learnt that FBO officers have requested for permission to meet with Warnakulasuirya to get more information about the blast.

The Divaina editorial member who spoke to us about this matter said that the newspaper staff had promoted him as the Defence Secretary of the newspaper from the post of defence correspondent due to the greatness of his work. One of the reasons for this promotion is the fact that he uses the name of the Defence Secretary to belittle the Chairman and administration of Upali Newspaper.

Private detectives spying on activists against IPL matches: lawyer

S. VIJAY KUMAR-April 17, 2013

The State police are investigating allegations that private detectives were hired to spy on the activities of pro-Eelam Tamil activists, including students, in an attempt to prevent them from disrupting the ongoing IPL cricket matches, sources in intelligence agencies said on Tuesday.

Even as a city-based advocate P. Pugalenthi claimed that he sent a complaint by fax, email and Speed Post to the Police Commissioner stating that he received credible information on how a private security agency was hired to monitor the phone conversations of Tamil activists, student leaders, politicians, advocates, journalists and some police officers, the Chennai police maintained that no such complaint was received.

In his complaint, Mr. Pugalenthi, who is also secretary of Tamil Nadu People’s Rights Forum, named an individual, who, he alleged, was using special monitoring equipment to keep a tab on phone conversations.

“We have information that monitoring equipment is being used to intercept the mobile phone conversations of these activists. This is an offence punishable under the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933. Some student activists were even threatened not to indulge in any protest against IPL,” he said.

When contacted, Students Federation for Free Eelam coordinator V. Prabhakaran said some unidentified persons did call him on his mobile phone and warned them against any attempt to disrupt the IPL matches.

Not ruling out the possibility of unauthorised persons intercepting mobile phone conversations, an official in the State intelligence said such activity required expensive equipment that could not be imported easily.

“It is possible that some persons might have called the activists and asked them not to interfere with the IPL. But allegations that mobile phone conversations were being monitored are yet to be established,” he said.

Claiming that law-enforcing agencies had a standard procedure to follow when it came to monitoring the mobile phones of suspects, the official said service providers (telecom operators) were an essential part of such operations.

“It is not that we have some equipment to independently track the calls of somebody…the activity is registered at different levels and cannot be erased,” he said.

Indian Naval ships INS Sujata, INS Tarangini welcomed in Colombo

By PTI | 17 Apr, 2013

COLOMBO: Three Indian Naval ships today berthed at the Colombo port as part of efforts to enhance the mutual cooperation between the navies of Sri Lanka and India. 

'INS Sujata, 'INS Tarangini' and the coast guard ship 'ICGS Varuna' were welcomed in accordance with naval traditions on arrival. 

They are on a training visit, the Sri Lanka Navy said. INS Sujata is an offshore patrol vessel with a Chetak helicopter and 192 naval personnel onboard. 

INS Tarangini, a sailBSE -1.05 % training ship, has carried 80 personnel, while ICGS Varuna, an advanced offshore patrol vessel also having a Chetak helicopter, has 187 personnel onboard. 

The ships' crews will be in Colombo until April 21 and participate in a special programme to enhance the mutual cooperation, the Navy said.