2ND LEAD (Adds details)

Trader shot dead in Mallakam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 March 2007, 12:20 GMT]
The owner of a private Telecommunication center was shot dead by unknown gunmen at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, sources in Jaffna said. Four armed men who arrived in two motorbikes while the owner was opening the center for business, shot the owner in point-blank range before escaping, according to eyewitnesses.

Karthigesu Lankapathi, 62, died on the spot.

His business is located 100 meters from Mallakam junction along Kattuvan road.

Mallakam district Judge, Ms Sarojini Ilankovan, visited the scene to and directed the police to handover the body to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for postmortem examinations, legal sources said.

The business premises where the crime occurred is located 75 meters east of EPDP camp where Police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are deployed for security duty. Erlalai SLA camp is located on the west of the building.