Nadarajah Thangathurai

Nadarajah Thangavelu (; died 25 July 1983; commonly known by the nom-de-guerre Thangadurai) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and one of the founders of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.

Early militancy In 1969 a small group of militant Tamil youths from Valvettithurai formed an underground group. The group was known as the Thangadurai Group and was led by Thangadurai and Kuttimani. The group would later be known as the Tamil Liberation Organisation (TLO). Other members of the group included V. Prabhakaran, Sri Sabaratnam, Pon Sivakumaran, Periya Sothi, Chinna Sothi, Chetti and Kannadi. The group carried out various arson attacks and attempted assassinations and formed close ties with Tamil Nadu politicians and the Research and Analysis Wing, the Indian intelligence agency. Sabaratnam was charged in absentia.

Death

Thangadurai, Kuttimani, Devan, Sivapatham and Nadesudasan were kept at Welikada Prison whilst their appeal was waiting to be heard by the Supreme Court. Amongst the victims were Thangadurai and Kuttimani. Survivors reported that the pair were forced to kneel whilst their eyes were gouged out with iron bars (an allusion to Kutimani's statement in court) and that one of the attackers cut out Kutimani's tongue and drank his blood, crying "I have drunk the blood of a Tiger". Survivors also claimed that the prison officers allowed their keys to fall into the hand of the Sinhalese prisoners.