Three killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 March 2001, 13:18 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army at Santhively, 24 kilometers north of Batticaloa, Friday handed over to the Eravur hospital the body of a civilian who was shot dead by troops lying in ambush in the interior of Korakallimadu, a hamlet near Kiran Thursday night. The family of Paththakkutti Nallarasa, 49, father of four, told Tamilnet that he was returning home with two friends last night around 8.30 p.m. when an SLA ambush party from the Santhively camp opened fire on them.

The army came to the spot where Nallarasa lay dead early Friday morning and inquired from families living nearby about his identity. Upon being informed that he was a civilian, the soldiers told them to inform his family of his death and took Nallarasa's body away.

The troops also instructed the people near the place where Nallarasa was shot dead to tell his family to report to the Santhively camp during the day. The SLA handed over Nallarasa's body to the Eravur hospital around noon Friday.

Meanwhile, the SLA arrested a youth Friday morning near the Kiran Bridge, 27 kilometers north of Batticaloa, suspecting him to be a member of the Liberation Tigers. The youth was unarmed, military sources said. However, he was detained and was sent to the Kiran camp in an autorickshaw with an escort of troopers.

SLA sources said later in the day that the youth was shot dead when he grabbed the gun of a soldier escorting him and shot him (the soldier) dead and that another soldier had then opened fire on the youth, killing him.