Colombo:
Thiruvekkadam Velupillai, the father of slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, died last night at a military base due to old age-related problems, over seven months after the guerrilla leader was killed in a military offensive in northern Sri Lanka.
The 86-year-old Velupillai, along with his wife, has been living in military protection ever since the defeat of the rebel LTTE in May last year. The government has maintained that they had been kept in good conditions.
Velupillai died at the Panagoda Cantonment in Western Province, where he was in military protective custody, the army said on Thursday.
"He was suffering from paralysis and other old age-related problems. Arrangements were made for him to seek treatment in national hospitals on several occasions," defence spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. Panagoda houses one of the main hospitals operated by the Lankan Army Medical Corps.
Though his son led a violent 25-year campaign for creating a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east, Prabhakaran's father served in the Sri Lankan government for 39 years, beginning his career as a clerk at the Ceylon Government Railways in 1943.
He got several promotions, retiring as Land Officer of the Land Settlement Department in 1982.
The LTTE supremo's parents, who were reportedly living in a welfare camp in Vavuniya with the relatives of other LTTE leaders, were found by the security forces after the annihilation of the rebel outfit in the military operation.
Prabhakaran was killed by the military in Nanthikadal lagoon in Mullaitivu on May 18 last year.