Prabhakaran diabetic, may not withstand sea escape bid: Report

LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran is a diabetic and may not withstand the rigours of an escape bid by a submarine, a British newspaper has claimed.

The possibility is that the Tamil Tigers' leader will fight till his death instead of surrendering, 'The Sunday Telegraph' newspaper quoted his former right-hand man Colonel Karuna as saying.

Prabhakaran's son Charles has already 'escaped by a submarine' to some unknown destination, the report said, while maintaining that the LTTE chief may have run out of options. However, if he did get out, "Prabhakaran could find a welcome in the overseas Tamil Diaspora".

Colonel Karuna said, "In exile, he could expect to live well. He is a billionaire after stealing money intended for Tamil cause."

Another possibility is that the surviving Tigers and their leader, now cornered in a shrinking patch of territory in the island nation, could commit mass suicide, "perhaps forcing their families to take part," the report said.

Col Karuna, who defected to the Sri Lankan government, has claimed that the ruthless LTTE chief is still in command of his surviving fighters in the island nation.

"Sri Lanka lost so many fighters and civilians and Prabhakaran is responsible for all this. I used to say to him, 'Why did you kill all those people?' He's a very horrible man. He has to be eliminated," Colonel Karuna said.

Colonel Karuna, whose real name is Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan - was a child soldier who rose to become the LTTE chief's number two before defecting to the government in 2006, along with a group of supporters.