New Information about Pottu Amman (Shanmugalingam Sivashankar)








Shanmugalingam Sivashankar also known as Pottu Amman is a Sri Lankan Tamil militant. He was indicted by the Indian government's Jain Commission for involvement in the assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Shanmugalingam Sivashankar is an "introvert," who is rarely seen in public and is known to the public by his nom de guerre rather than by his real name. He has a wife and three children, whose whereabouts is unknown. He is a hardliner in favour of an independent Tamil Eelam.

Pottu Amman joined LTTE in 1981 along with Colonel Soosai, and became second in LTTE's military wing after leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Pottu Amman was trained and was the head of a coastal camp in Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu. He also became the leader of the Black Tigers force and Tiger Organization Security Intelligence Service (TOSIS). He was once kidnapped by rival PLOTE cadres and later freed in 1985 in exchange for another PLOTE member. Pottu Amman is known for his military expertise.