COLOMBO, SEPT 1: A key suspect in the assassination of parliamentarian Neelan Tiruchelvam in July has fled to India, according to newspaper reports here.The State-owned Daily News was among a clutch of newspapers that, quoting sources, reported that while at least a dozen suspects had been arrested so far for the killing, the ``mastermind'', identified as Eric Saundaranayagam, was now believed to be in India.However, the police have officially made no statement on the arrests or about those wanted in the case. Tiruchelvam was killed by a suicide bomber on July 29 while being driven from his home to his office. The police have not yet been able to establish the identity of the bomber.Senior Superintendent of Police W P Dayaratne, in whose area some suspects were reportedly taken in, refused to comment on the reports about Eric Saundaranayagam. Though Dayaratne confirmed to this newspaper that ``a few'' arrests had been made, he refused to say if these were linked to the assassination case.Officials at the Indian High Commission denied having received any notification by the investigators, either officially or informally, that any person wanted in the case was in India.According to reports that have been peppering local newspapers since last week, Saundaranayagam and two others reconnoitered Tiruchelvam's movements in the days before the killing. The other two are among those reported to be now in custody.The Daily News reported that all the arrests made so far were ``directly or indirectly'' linked to Tiruchelvam's assassination.Among others arrested was a driver of a government official in Mannar in north-west Sri Lanka, the report said. He is said to have transported the explosives that could have been used in the assembly of a suicide jacket.
