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The Indian government extended the ban on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by another two years on Friday, following intelligence reports that remnants of the Sri Lankan Tamil terror outfit were trying to re-group in Tamil Nadu.
According to a notification issued by the Union home ministry, even though the LTTE has been "decimated in Sri Lanka, recent reports reveal that remnant LTTE cadres and leaders are regrouping in Tamil Nadu".
The LTTE has been banned since 1992 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The outfit which was espousing the cause of a separate Tamil Eelam was vanquished by the Sri Lankan military in May last year.
The notification said the possibility of its remnant cadres using India and especially Tamil Nadu as a rear base for their re-grouping activities cannot be ruled out. It also said the possibility of their entering in the guise of Tamil refugees also cannot be ruled out. Sources said LTTE sympathisers were posing a security threat by continuing to spread anti-India propaganda on the internet accusing the Indian leadership and its officialdom of being responsible for their defeat.
They said activities of certain remnant cadres have been noticed in Tamil Nadu and an extension of ban on LTTE was required.
As per the procedure, the notification will now reach a tribunal, which has to ratify it. The group-led by V Prabhakaran had been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by several countries including the US.
The LTTE was involved in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 following which it was banned in India in 1992.