Wednesday, July 6 2005 12:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The CBI Director, heading the Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order releasing two Sri Lankan nationals suspected to have played "key roles" in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

The Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Director challenging the April 25 order of the High Court stated that the suspects Lingam and Vasanthan "had played an important role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi".

"It has come to light during the course of investigation by SIT as well as that of MDMA, that the respondents are closely associated with LTTE," the appeal stated, while seeking stay of the High Court order.

Lingam and Vasanthan, lodged at present in a special camp for Sri Lankan Refugees at Chengalpettu, have been detained under the Foreigners Act for illegally entering India without valid travel documents.

The appeal said the Memorandum of Action taken by the Central Government on the Jain Commission Report envisaged the setting up of MDMA in the CBI to further investigate the roles of 21 suspects in the Rajiv assassination case.

Although names of Lingam and Vasanthan were not included among the 21 accused listed in the Memorandum of Action Taken, the MDMA while investigating into the activities of the suspects concerned had come across information, which lead to suspicion that the present respondents had important roles to play in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the appeal said.

The CBI, in its appeal, stated that it had come to light during the course of investigations that Lingam used to hold "secret discussions with Sivarasan, the one-eyed key accused in the Rajiv assassination case who had committed suicide on being cornered by SIT, and other LTTE cadres."

The MDMA found out that "Lingam had also received the 9-member killer squad consisting of Sivarasan, Dhanu alias Anbu, Subbha alias Nithya, Neru alias Gokul, Suthandiraja alias Santhan, Shankar alias Koneswaran, Vijayanandan alias Hariyya, Ruban alias Suresh and Driver Anna alias Keerthi on its arrival at Kodaikkarai on May 1, 1991 to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi," the agency said.

On the role of Vasanthan, the CBI alleged he had "actively participated in arranging for the accommodation of Sivarasan, Subha and Neru at Bangalore after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 at Sreeperambudur."

The agency said the MDMA, apart from conducting detailed investigations in India, has also sent a Letter Rogatory (LR) to Sri Lanka on April 23, 2001 through Designated TADA Court, Chennai for investigation there on the roles played by the suspects, including Lingam and Vasanthan. Detailing the steps taken on investigating the case and the suspects, the CBI assailed the High Court order which had released the two suspects on the ground that no effective steps had been taken by the MDMA to complete its probe.

The CBI said the respondents were Sri Lankan nationals and it would be extremely difficult to secure their presence after their release and subsequent departure to Sri Lanka.