Tags: Colombo

Colombo, May 17 : Is Velupillai Prabhakaran dead or alive? Rumours about the elusive LTTE supremo, who has vowed not to be captured alive by the Sri Lankan forces, swirled the island today after the rebels conceded defeat.

The LTTE's announcement led to intense media speculation with some saying that the 55-year-old gureilla leader may be among some 300 rebels who apparently committed suicide in the rebel-held territory in the northern region.

However, the government denied reports of Prabhakaran's "death" but said President Mahinda Rajapaksa would make a nationally-televised address from Parliament on Tuesday to give an "update" on the war.

"We do not have any reports of Prabhakaran's death and such reports are not true. Even the stories on the (recovery of) burnt LTTE bodies is incorrect," Minister for Mass Media and Information, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, told PTI.

The LTTE rebels are known for wearing cyanide capsules around their necks so as not to be captured alive.

One speculation doing the rounds in Colombo is that Prabhakaran, also wanted in connection with the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, blew himself up along with his top lieutenants on Friday night in thick jungles so as to ensure that his body would never be found by the advancing Lankan army. (MORE)

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