Armed men abduct four Batticaloa students, release three

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 May 2006, 16:37 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in a white van abducted a student riding a bicycle near Vantharumoolai University Tuesday around 4.10 p.m. At around 4.50 p.m the van tried to abduct five students standing near the Pethalai Sivan Temple in Valaichenai, but two of the students managed to escape, said sources in Batticaloa. The van with four abducted students sped away in the direction of Welikanda along the Colombo trunk road, in Batticaloa district, sources further said.

The three abducted students in the second incident were released after being inquired at Vahaneri on the Colombo main road and sent back on a tractor transporting sand around 6.30 p.m, but the fate of the student first abducted near Vantharumoolai university remains a mystery.

People in Pethalai region in Valaichenai said they heard gunshots following these abductions but details are not available.

The abducted students, all of them G.C.E Ordinary level students, were forcibly taken in the white van, while returning after private tuition class, added the sources.

The first abduction was in the Eravur police division and the latter in the Valaichenai police division, both in Batticaloa district.

Meanwhile, unknown persons attacked Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers with gun fire Monday evening in Pethalai area, but no one was injured sources in Valaichenai said.

Batticaloa residents are alarmed at the rising spectre of "white van"abductions that had earlier terrorized them.