RAW, meanwhile, kept its options open. It would be funny if it was not so tragic, for India's sake, how the contradictions of the defence ministry and RAW came into play. I visited Madras in May 1988, mainly to see the LTTE deputy leader Kittu (later killed by the Indian Navy in a ship carrying arms to Sri Lanka). Kittu was under house-arrest, for the IPKF was after all fighting the LTTE across the Palk Strait. An LTTE operative was to take me to Kittu's house. Pray, in what was I taken? A Government of India jeep, driven by an LTTE member. After meeting Kittu, and LTTE spokesman Raheem, I went to see 'Castro' at the LTTE's propaganda office nearby, where the LTTE's red and orange flag was flying. They gave me a Cola and 200 photos to pick from, of the return of two IPKF POWs at Vavuniya the previous day. These photos had been sent to the LTTE office in Madras in the same IAF plane that brought the POWs.All this, while the LTTE was blowing up Indian jawans sky-high. Amazing, I thought to myself. The prime minister at the time was none other than Rajiv Gandhi.