SL Police arrests three Tamil teachers in Nuwara Eliya

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 10:48 GMT]
Special police team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested three Tamil teachers in Ragala in Nuwara Eliya district in the central province Wednesday night, and has taken them to Colombo Thursday for interrogation, upcountry sources said. Police said the three were arrested on information from one of the three Sinhala journalists, arrested earlier in Colombo, on charges of having received arms training from Liberation Tigers.

The arrested have been identified as Vaithilingam Mahendran of Alkaranoya Barathi Vidyalayam, Suthanthirakesari Sugasenan of Konaipitty Tamil Vidyalayam and Rajaretnam Jeyaseelan of Mahauwa Tamil Vidyalayam, sources said.

The arrested teachers are also said to be members of the New Democratic Party (NDP).

The national organizer of the NDP, E.Thambiah, has sent a letter to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse saying that the teachers are innocent and appealing him to obtain their release, media sources said.

Meanwhile, the police arrested two Sinhalese civilians in Ratnapura in Uva Province Thursday evening also for having connections with three Sinhala journalists, media sources said