Lankan refugee attacks former Indian NSA with slipper

In a shocking incident, the former Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) M.K. Narayanan was on Wednesday attacked by a radical Tamil activist with a slipper at the end of a colloquium on ‘The Future of Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in India,’ organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, in which the former IB chief was a key speaker. Mr. Narayanan had climbed down from the dais, when the young man proceeded towards the former NSA and threw a slipper at him. The slipper glanced Mr. Narayanan’s head. Soon after the people gathered there cornered him, he began raising slogans alleging that Mr. Narayanan had helped Sri Lanka during the war in Sri Lanka in 2009. Those present close to him said he was not hurt too badly and left for home after the incident. After the incident, police immediately apprehended him and took him to the Royapettah police station. According to police sources, Prabhakaran of Aranthangi in Pudukottai, a Sri Lankan refugee who migrated to Tamil Nadu in the 1970s, entered the venue registering himself with the name Raghavan for the event. “When he was coming out, he hit the former security advisor. He was immediately taken away by the police. He shouted that Mr. Narayanan did not support the Tamils’ cause in Sri Lanka,” said a police officer. He added that they had detained some 50 members of the May 17 movement in Goudia Mutt Road. A radical group named ‘May 17 Movement’ had earlier announced that its members would protest against the event and stage an attack on the participants. Following the threats issued by them, a heavy posse of police personnel was deployed in the venue. The colloquium, held at Music Academy, was attended by scholars and experts on the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict and Tamil refugees issue, members of the Consular Corps, including Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner V. Krishnamoorthy, Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR) Treasurer S.C. Chandrahasan, and Chairman, Kasturi and Sons Ltd N. Ram, besides others. (The Hindu)