A member of the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) has been arrested for allegedly importing propellers and spare parts used in speedboats from Norway with the idea of smuggling the consignment to the LTTE in Sri Lanka, police said here on Thursday.

Jayaraj Rathinam alias Vanni Arasu (36), editor of the party’s official paper Tamil Mann (Tamil soil), was arrested by the police after it was found that the consignment had been sent to him by suspected LTTE member Gokulan from Oslo in February.

Police said the consignment addressed to ‘Jayaraj Rathinam’ had reached Chennai port in February, but remained unclaimed. It took some time for officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to identify the consignee who is better known as ‘Vanni Arasu’.

The consignment,  opened in his presence in September, had propellers, steering wheels and other parts used in high-speed boats. Vanni Arasu sought to explain it as ‘tsunami aid’ meant for distribution to affected fishermen. However, the police said the parts were not meant for fishing boats.

Arasu has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.