Although JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissnayake publicly stated that he was not aware of a member called Kumar Gunaratnam, Asian Mirror has received a picture where Gnaratnam, an ex-Politburo member of the party, is seen standing alongside JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva.

It can be assumed that the picture was taken during the mid-90s after the party entered into the democratic stream.

Although Dissanayake, during a live television discussion, denied any knowledge of Gunaratnam, both of them functioned as front-line members of the party for several years. It was later revealed that the present JVP Leader studied English under Gunaratnam’s mother, at one point.

Gunaratnam, who played a pivotal role in the party, stayed away from public spotlight during the time he functioned as a Politburo member of the party. He left the JVP in 2012 as a result of an internal dispute. The group left with Gunaratnam claimed that they had “unbridgeable” ideological differences with the JVP.

During 1988-89, Gunaratnam functioned as the Trincomalee leader of Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV), the armed wing of the JVP. He was also the contact point between the JVP and some Tamil groups of Marxist orientation, mainly the TELO. Touted as an explosives expert, he allegedly masterminded the JVP attack on the Pallekele army camp and IPKF camp at Kallar.

After the death of his brother Ranjitham Gunaratnam, an ex-politburo member of the party, Kumar was arrested and imprisoned at the Bogambara prison. However, he managed to escape the prison tunnelling his way out of prison on December  13, 1988. Subsequently, he fled the country, reportedly via the sea route as the military launched a man hunt.