Mannar skeletons sent for forensic tests

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 January 2006, 11:45 GMT]
Mr.N.M.M.Abdulla, Mannar Magistrate Monday allowed an application by the Mannar Police to send the partially burnt human skeletons recovered on 25 December from a burnt out house in the "100 House Project" for medical examination to Karapitya hospital in Galle district. The skeletons were recovered two days after the claymore mine attack on a bus carrying Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers that took place on December 23 afternoon near the housing project in Pesalai, legal sources said.

Human rights sources suspect the human skeletons belong to the owner of the house Mr. Emmanuel Croos, 43, his wife Ms Anthonikkam Croos, 43, Ms Therese Croos (41) and her four-year sold son Dilukshan who have been reported missing since the claymore mine attack.

Mannar Police in its application sought the permission of the court to order the Judicial Medical Officer of the Karapitya hospital in Galle district to identify whether the remains belonged to men, women or children and their ages and the cause of deaths whether they died due to firing or clubbing or burnt to death, legal sources said.

Accordingly the Magistrate allowed the application and ordered the Karapitya hospital authorities to send the report without delay after subjecting the remains of human skeletons to medical examination, legal sources said.

Following the claymore mine attack on SLN personnel, occupants of the 100 Housing Project fled from their houses and sought refuge in Vettrimatha Church far away from the scene. However on December 25 after Christmas Mass in the morning, a group of displaced people with Catholic priests of the area went to the housing project where they saw a house gutted by fire and discovered burnt remains of human skeletons inside.