Pro-Tamil outfits denounce ex-NSA's attacker, deny ties

Who is M Prabakaran, the 36-year-old man who created a kerfuffle at a seminar here on Wednesday by hurling a slipper at former West Bengal governor and NSA M K Narayanan, in protest against what he claimed was the former bureaucrat's role in the "massacre of 1.5 lakh Tamils in Sri Lanka"? Leaders of pro-Tamil outfits in the state, who one may expect to be of his acquaintance, certainly haven't a clue. The leaders of these outfits not only sought to distance themselves from Prabakaran a day after the attack but went so far as to denounce his action as unacceptable. Police said Prabakaran, is from Aranthangi in Pudukkottai district, 380km south of Chennai.

"His parents were from Sri Lanka. They moved to Tamil Nadu in 1973," a police officer said. "He worked in Malaysia between 2003 and 2007, doing jobs like plumbing and carpentry." The 36-year-old bachelor, who lives in Koyambedu, professes to be a pro-Tamil activist who participates in meetings of pro-Tamil nationalists. He's also been trying his luck at scriptwriting for Tamil films. Narayanan was a speaker at 'Future of Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in India' at Music Academy on Wednesday, a seminar organised by a media group. He had concluded his speech and was leaving the dais when Prabakaran flung a slipper at him that hit him in the back. Prabakaran told reporters that he was associated with pro-Tamil outfits but, when police arrested and questioned him, denied being part of any group. Thirumurugan Gandhi of May-17 Iyakkam, a civil rights group, disassociated himself from Prabakaran on Wednesday and other pro-Tamil outfits disowned him on Thursday. "We do not accept such attacks," Naam Tamilar Katchi leader and actor Seeman said. "We believe in democratic protests." Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam leader K Ramakrishnan said no one had heard of Prabakaran till Wednesday.