Immediately after the shooting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi called on Indian Prime Minister IK Gujral to intervene. Eight Indian fishermen are currently under custody in Jaffna accused of entering Sri Lankan territorial waters. The plight of fishermen is a sore point in Indo-Sri Lanka relations. In early May Indian coastguard arrested five Sri Lankan fishermen.
The Sri Lankan Navy says Sea Tiger boats among Indian fishing craft are launching attacks on naval vessels. Other reports say the LTTE continues to smuggle arms and fuel across the Palk Strait. The Indian Navy arrested four people said to be Tiger agents with 2,500 litres of petrol in a boat on 18 May. Earlier in the month, police arrested four youths who attempted to extort Rs 200,000 from a Sri Lankan refugee family at Mylapur.
The Rajiv Gandhi murder case in which LTTE leader V Prabhakaran is the main accused is expected to be completed by August. According to press reports the Jain Commission enquiring into conspiracies behind the killing has sent a questions list to Rajiv Gandhi’s wife Sonya Gandhi, including queries on the links between the LTTE and the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
Giving evidence before the Commission former Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao denied allegations that his government blocked investigations into the Rajiv murder and claimed Mr Karunanidhi’s DMK government passed on state secrets to the LTTE in 1989. In a statement issued in late May the Tamil Nadu government says it remains vigilant and LTTE activities have been curtailed in the state.