Nervous soldiers shoot mental patient

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) at a sentry point inside the Jaffna Hospital shot and wounded Chitravelu Sivabalan (35), a patient who is mentally ill and warded there, around 12:30 a.m. Friday night, said sources in Jaffna.

The shooting led to sentries guarding other points at the hospital opening fire too, causing panic among the patients.

Sivablan, who was warded on the first floor had come downstairs to the maternity wards when the sentries shot at him, wounding him in left the leg.

As the firing began, soldiers posted near the blood-bank, the mortuary and other points panicked and also started firing, said sources.

Meanwhile SLA sources said that firing inside the hospital had led to the SLA sentries returning fire.