2ND LEAD (Adds photos)

Trincomalee in shock over killing of students

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 04:29 GMT]
Trincomalee residents are shocked and angered over the killing of five old students of Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College in a grenade attack by unidentified men Monday night at about 7.50 p.m. Two old students, one from Sri Koneswara Hindu College and another from St.Joseoh’s College in Trincomalee are warded in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Trincomalee general hospital. All the dead and injured are identified as Tamils and below the age of 20 years. Two of the dead students have gained university admission for the current academic year, police sources said.

The victim students sat for the GCE Advanced Level Examination in the year 2004 and 2005. Principals of the schools Tuesday morning rushed to the Trincomalee general hospital and viewed the bodies of dead students, education sources said.

All schools and education institutions in the east port town have closed indefinitely following the killings. Parents of the dead and the injured and fellow students were seen wailing outside the Trincomalee general hospital, sources said

Sri Koneswara students died in the attack are:

• Shanmugarajah Gajendran,
• Logitharajah Rohan
• Thangathurai Sivanantha
• Yogarajah Hemachchandra
• Manoharan Rajihar

The names of the injured are:

• Yogarajah Poongalalone (St.Jospeh’s College)
• Pararajasingham Kokulraj ( Koneswara Hindu College )

When the victims had gathered as usual to spend the evening near the roundabout junction where Koneswara Road and Dockyard Road meet, in front of the Dutch Bay sea beach when the grenade attack happened.

Gandhi Statue is in the middle of the roundabout.

Police officials and monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) rushed to the site and began inquiries, sources said.

Dutch Bay sea beach is a popular spot for families to spend the evenings, sources said.