Hundreds of people gathered in Chennai on Sunday to pay homage to Balachandran, the son of the founder of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who died during the final phase of the Sri Lankan civil war in May 2009.
LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and his 10-year-old son Balachandran were reportedly killed in the armed conflict which ended with the war in 2009. Since 1983, the LTTE has been launching insurgent attacks against the Lankan government aiming to establish an independent Tamil state in the island nation.
Based on some photographs, media reports had suggested that Balachandran was murdered. However, the Sri Lankan government said that Balachandran and other rebel leaders were killed in crossfire during the war.
On the occasion, founder and General Secretary of the regional Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party, Vaiko, sought autonomy for Tamils residing in Sri Lanka.