K. Pathmanabha

Kandasamy Pathmanabha (; 19 November 1951 – 19 June 1990) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and founder/leader of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.

Early life Pathmanabha was born on 19 November 1951. He was from Kankesanthurai in northern Ceylon. The 1974 Tamil conference incident further radicalised Pathmanabha. On 10 May 1976 the ELO robbed the Puloly Multi-purpose Cooperative Society's bank in Puloly. Pathmanabha was personally involved in the robbery. After the robbery Pathmanabha went on the run whilst the ELO disintegrated due to the security crackdown. Many EPRLF cadres were killed or taken prisoner and EPRLF camps and weapons were seized by the LTTE. The LTTE called for a boycott of the 1988 North Eastern Provincial Council election, stating that anyone who contested would be labelled a traitor and punished. Varatharaja Perumal became the first (and only) Chief Minister of North Eastern Province. Fearful of the consequences once the IPKF had pulled out, the EPRLF leadership fled to India. On 11 March 1990 Pathmanabha was flown from Trincomalee to Bhubaneswar in an Indian military aircraft.

Death On the evening of 19 June 1990 the EPRLF central committee were meeting at a flat at the Zachria Colony in Kodambakam. At around 7pm gunmen broke into the flat and started firing. Five EPRLF cadres waiting outside the block of flats were also killed.