Six missing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Four teenagers from Nallur Sathaana Mahaviththiyalayam in Jaffna town have been missing from yesterday, said sources in Jaffna. It is believed that the boys have been arrested by the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).

They were last seen in the company of Bhavananthan Sajithkumar of Kokkuvil, during the past few days.

Bhavanthan Sajithkumar, a St. Johns Ambulance volunteer, is also known to be a supporter of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Part (EPDP), said sources.

Suspecting that the boys could have been abducted by the EPDP, the public apprehended Bhavanathan Sajithkumar today and assaulted him severely.

But neither this, nor lodging complaints with the Sri Lanka police, has yielded any information about the boys whereabouts, said sources.

The boys' names are L. Sutharshan (17), L. Parthiban (17) S. Sugirthan (14) and S. Vivek (17).

Meanwhile, two persons travelling in a bus from Pt. Pedro to Jaffna, who were detained at a mobile military checkpoint near Valvettithurai yesterday, have also gone missing since, said unconfirmed reports.

They were travelling in the 10:30 a.m. bus No. 751 from Pt. Pedro to Jaffna via Udupiddy, when the bus was stopped by a mobile squad of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for inspection at a point between Valvettithurai and Inbarutti, 18 km north of Jaffna according to eye witnesses.

The two youngsters were taken away and nothing has been heard of them since. No other details, including their identities, are known at present.

Elsewhere on the peninsula, Kunam Anandarasa (22) was severely assaulted by a group of soldiers from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) post at Changanai, 18 km north of Jaffna, yesterday, said sources.

He was admitted in hospital in a semi-conscious state, last evening.

The group of soldiers who assaulted Kunam Anandarasa were not manning a checkpoint or on official duty, but were strolling on the road, said sources.