Karuna crowded by crooked shadows

From Neville de Silva in London

The sudden British crackdown on Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan popularly known as Colonel Karuna on Friday morning was bizarre. Had the move anything to do with the death of S.P. Tamilselvan in Sri Lanka and British fears that there could be violence here between rival Tamil factions?

Colonel Karuna

While the Sri Lanka High Commission in London said even on Friday night that it had not been informed of Karuna’s arrest and had only seen media reports to that effect, the Home Office said earlier in the day he was taken into custody in a joint operation between the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) and the Metropolitan Police.

The involvement of BIA in the arrest was a clear indication that Karuna had been taken in for an immigration offence. According to well-placed sources, Karuna had a forged passport but a valid UK visa. But it was well known that he had entered the country and that his visa had been issued in Colombo.

Other sources here said it is most unlikely that he could have got through immigration with a forged visa given the very strict immigration controls now at Heathrow Airport through which Karuna is said to have entered the UK some two months ago. If the visa was issued in Colombo the issuing authorities would have known to whom it was been issued or had been unusually lax in granting it.

The question being asked in Sri Lankan circles here is why the British authorities decided to act now. Some here believe that Karuna had been under police surveillance from the time of his arrival here and that they were aware he was living in Hertfordshire in North London and had an office in another residence in East Ham.

Tamil circles here say he was also spotted at a Hindu temple in Ealing about three weeks ago. These stories have been circulating here for some time. Karuna’s departure from Sri Lanka had already figured in the Colombo media with some claiming that he had been assisted at the airport on his departure.