Once a battle-hardened guerilla, Vinaya-gamoorthi Muralitharan, more popularly known by his nom de guerre Colonel Karuna Amman, now rubs shoulders with lawmakers as a part of Sri Lanka's political mainstream.
The former eastern commander of the Tamil Tigers was recently appointed a member of parliament, supported by the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
At one point, he was a favourite of Tigers' chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, operating as a frontline commander and effectively served as No2 in the military organisation.
But, in 2004, he broke ranks, citing differences with Prabhakaran, and formed a mainstream political party called the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikkal (TMVP). He then began fighting alongside government forces against the Tigers, helping the security forces to recapture parts of the eastern region.
In an exclusive three-hour interview at an undisclosed location, Colonel Karuna spoke about everything from his reasons for breaking ranks with the Tigers - 'I want to liberate my people from the hands of the liberators' - to why he still has a private army - 'I'm on the top of the LTTE's [Tigers'] hit list.'
Member of parliament he may be, but Colonel Karuna remains a warlord. This interview was arranged through a set of intermediaries, and to get there I was blindfolded, had my mobile phone confiscated and was driven to Colonel Karuna's plush home somewhere outside Colombo by members of his personal bodyguard.
Colonel Karuna was this month appointed to the 225-member parliament to fill the vacancy of a lawmaker who quit to contest local polls. The appointment was controversial. Sri Lanka's Sinhala nationalist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna party challenged it in the Supreme Court, arguing that it should have got the seat. Human rights group Amnesty International also criticised the appointment, accusing Colonel Karuna of crimes against humanity, including torture and recruiting child soldiers.