On July 23, 1983, around 11 pm
On July 23, 1983, around 11 pm, a white Delica van was approaching Yarlpanam from the Tirunelveli junction
On July 23, 1983, around 11 pm, a white Delica van was approaching Yarlpanam from the Tirunelveli junction. Chellakili was driving. Vikram was sitting majestically next to him with his SMG. After him, I (Colonel Kittu) with brother (the national leader) and other comrades.
As planned, the van stopped at the post office, and everyone got down.
That is where we should plant the landmine.
The van stopped at that place, and we got down, and the strangers started coming out, asking for warmth. Vikram and Chellakili (wearing military uniforms) started walking on the road talking loudly in Sinhala, and no one could see the heads that were peeked out. The lights of the two houses that had lights on had also gone out. No one came out. They thought that the military had arrived and stood there.
As planned, Appaiya, Vikram and Chellakili start burying the explosives. Vikram and Sellakili dig a pit on the Pikanal road. Burying a mine is a big job.
During the preparation, the toxic nature of the explosives interferes, which is unbearable in my experience. Then we must dig the pit (it is not that easy to dig a pit on a tightly packed tar road), and more than that, we must fight during the attack.
According to our information, at around 12 midnight, the army usually comes from Palaly to Yarlpanam in a jeep and a ‘truck’ vehicle. It is said that 4 soldiers will come in a jeep and 10 people in a ‘truck’.
Our plan was to plant a mine at the post office junction where the University Back Road meets Palaly Road, and to hit the second vehicle coming with the mine, and to shoot down the vehicle coming in front. Accordingly, a Walkie-Talkie at the Tirunelveli junction would be sounded – that would inform us of their arrival.
While Vikram, Chellakili and Appaiya Anna were preparing the mine, everyone else jumped inside the walls of the nearby houses and started choosing their own place. Everyone got a place and while Vikram was burying the mine, he moved away and jumped inside the wall of the place allotted to him. The wall is taller than him, so he searches the street for some large stones to jump out of and adjust his height and adjusts his position by using the concealment of the wall. He checks how to operate the gun with his shoulder and whether he can operate the gun easily.
While Thambi is preparing for the attack from the post office junction behind the wall of a house on the Tirunelveli side, ‘Walkie’ calls Chellakili.
Chellakili finishes his work in a hurry, leaves the rest of the work to Appaiya, and goes to his position. Amman prepares himself with a detonator and an automatic machine gun on top of a nearby shop.
We also saw the light. Even then we could not work. Vikram shouted, “Brother, the light is coming, come on, change it.” As Brother was hammering the wire rolls with tape, the ‘Walkie’ screamed again.
“Amman, these are the ones we are watching. Jeep ahead, truck behind,” he announced. Amman, we are preparing to mine the truck, and as we prepare to attack the jeep ahead, the lights are approaching.
Our plan is to let the jeep come towards us, mine the truck behind us, and shoot those who escape in it.
Vikram stands ready to shoot those in the back of the truck. Thambi and some comrades stand to watch for those who overtake Vikram. The lights were coming past the Tirunelveli junction. I peered in. A vehicle with two headlights ahead. From the gap between the headlights, I understood that it was a jeep. Next was the truck. It is slowly approaching
As we were preparing to attack the jeep, the mine exploded past the jeep where the jeep was parked and neared the mine placement site. We were shocked. Why did it happen? We didn’t have time to think. In fact, we had left the jeep and planned to plant the mine on the truck that was coming behind. To this day, we don’t know why the jeep was detonated. Because Chellakili who detonated it didn’t explain it when the fight was over. We lost him.
We didn’t have time to think. Immediately, I and the people standing with me started shooting. The jeep’s light didn’t go out. So, we didn’t know what was happening behind.
I aimed and broke both the jeep’s lights with my G3. When the jeep’s light broke, I saw some figures getting out of the jeep in the light of the truck that was behind, and I fired all the bullets that were in the shell at them and at the jeep.
As the jeep overtook him, Vikram stood with his head against the wall, a landmine exploded with a loud noise. Vikram raised his head and saw only a field of dust. He vaguely saw a man running away from the blown-up jeep. He aimed at him and pressed the button. A few bullets hit the man’s body, and he was thrown. He just rolled over.
Another man ran towards him and shot him, he ran again, and the bullets did not knock him down. But they wounded him. He ran away wounded along the road behind the university. Vikram shot him again. The dust cloud that was high in the sky did not subside. And there was no proper light. That’s why he could not shoot properly. As he ran away, one or two guns fired at Vikram near the jeep. Vikram saw the flames. He aimed his machine gun at the flame. Then it died down. He also fired a few more shots at the figures that appeared. The gun suddenly stopped. It seemed to Vikram that the shells had run out. He changed the magazine filled with shells and fired again. At the same time, the driver of the truck behind him saw the explosion. Seeing the bright light and the jeep being thrown upwards,
The driver unconsciously pressed the brakes. Why, it can be said that he was standing on the brake pedal.
As the truck braked to a stop, the soldiers in the back of the truck began to get up from their seats, readying their guns.
Thambi was crouching in the shadow of the wall as both vehicles passed him. When he looked up, the jeep was approaching the mine, and the ‘truck’ was exactly 20 yards away from him when the mine exploded. The ‘truck’ braked very close to him – within arm’s reach – and his G3A3, which he always carries with him, started to explode.
While the soldiers were getting up from the seat of the ‘truck’, Thambi’s G3 started to explode.
The hot bullets that came out of the G3 began to knock down the soldiers who were ready to attack one after another.
This unexpected turn of events put Thambi in the highest danger zone.
At the same time, realizing that Thambi (the national leader) was standing alone, I chased Ranjan and another fighter saying, “Run to Thambi.” They ran towards Thambi through the nearby houses. But when Ranjan and his fellow fighter reached Thambi, all the guns in the truck were put to rest by Thambi’s single G3.
But this unexpected turn of events paved the way for the complete victory of the battle. The fact that all 9 soldiers who came in the ‘truck’ were trapped by Thambi, who was the first to handle the gun very quickly and accurately, paved the way for our complete victory.
Since the ‘truck’ was standing very close, Thambi could easily shoot them. Although the streetlights were extinguished by the vibration of the explosion, he took aim and shot one by one because they were very close. But the most dangerous situation for him. He is standing nearby.
Unexpectedly, Thambi is the one standing at the edge of the most danger in this attack. But despite his strength and power, he was knocking down the soldiers one after another, two clever soldiers jumped down from the truck, entered the hole, and started the attack from behind.
The shells were pelting the wall where Thambi was standing, and along with them, the people in front of the ‘truck’ were also trying to fall. Thambi’s G3, which was looking at this, roared towards them as well.
The most embarrassing thing about this was that there was no one to help Thambi. As per our plan, we were going to leave the jeep in front and mine the ‘truck’. As per that plan, we had kept Thambi far behind. But now Thambi was forced to deal with the ‘truck’ alone.
Meanwhile, Vikram, who was shooting at the jeep, noticed a truck about 20 yards behind him and the sound of gunfire. He turned his machine gun towards the truck – the front windows of the truck were shattered. He fired a long line of shots across the windows.
The driver must have died then. When we looked back, the driver had fallen on the steering wheel in his seat, coughing up blood.
A little ahead of Vikram, from the opposite direction, “Bazeer Kaka” was firing at the jeep with a ‘repeater’. When the bullets in the ‘repeater’ ran out, his uncle, who was near the Kaka, was encouraging him to change it and attack again. At that moment, a man came running towards the order with an S. M. G. “Shoot,” the boy said immediately,
“Be careful, I don’t know where the bullets are. Look and shoot.” When the ‘repeat’ sound stopped, the man fell dead. The boy ran and got his SMG. We later learned that this was the Lebrin who led the patrol. His special military stripes confirmed it.
After completing this act of bravery that anyone would normally believe, Thambi was quietly filling the gun under the mango tree near the house.
Ranjan and the other fighter, who jumped over the wall, saw a person with a weapon, brought the weapon to readiness, and came forward. “Whose?” they asked.
“Everything is over here. But I didn’t see Pulenthiran and Santosam who were in front of me a little while ago. I don’t know if they were injured. Let’s see,” said Thambi, carrying his beloved G3 and hurried away.
Before jumping over the wall, the fighter who had come with Ranjan got his brother’s permission and threw a bomb as a precaution. The bomb fell under the ‘truck’ and exploded, breaking the fuel tank.
After this, jumping over the wall and crossing the road, Pulenthiran reached Santosam’s place. Pulendran did not find Santosam. “First of all, collect the weapons of the dead,” ordered Thambi.
After this, they approached the ‘truck’ and started collecting weapons. Thambi wrote the final chapter on the heads of the soldiers lying outside with G3 for no reason. The speed of G3 cracked their skulls.
At the same time, another soldier who was running on the road behind the university was chased and shot. After finishing the jeep, Ponnaman, I and my fighters ran towards the ‘truck’ in the middle of the road.
Thambi’s voice welcomed us.
Everyone surrounded Thambi and started collecting weapons with joy.
Meanwhile, Ponnaman, with great joy, put the ‘helmets’ of the dead soldiers on his head and searched for the weapons of the dead soldiers lying under the ‘truck’.
Since the attack was at night, we used the ‘helmet’ as a code to distinguish us from the soldiers.
Seeing a figure moving with a ‘helmet’, Thambi immediately brought his gun to the ready and asked, “Who?” Amman replied, “That’s me, Thambi,” realizing his mistake and taking off the ‘helmet’.
While scolding Ponnamman, Thambi ordered everyone to check, and Vikram shouted, “Amman is missing.” Vikram and Pulenthiran climbed onto the shop where Amman were standing. Vikram’s voice, “Hey Amman is attacked,” echoed everywhere. I brought the van so everyone could run there.
Amman’s body went cold as he lifted the van.
As the sky began to take off, the rain gently greeted us with its hands.
Thunder and lightning accompanied the sky as it flew towards our camp to pay its last respects to the death of Chellakili Amman.
– Colonel Kittu
– In the field
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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