Thadchchanamadu murder suspects identified

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 August 2002, 19:48 GMT]
All the eleven suspects in the Thadchanamadu murder case were identified Wednesday before the Mannar acting Magistrate Mr.S.A.Johnthasan. All the fifteen witnesses who were present in the court identified the accused when the identification parade was held in five. The suspects were produced under heavy security.

The suspects were arrested in connection with the killing of three persons, a driver, conductor and an assistant of a bus, whose bodies were recovered by the Tamileelam police at Thadchchanamadu during last month. Eight of the suspects are Sinhalese and three Tamils. The Sri Lankan Police arrested the suspects from Seeduwa, Katunayake and Gampaha in the south.

The identification parade commenced in Mannar court Wednesday around 11 a.m.before the acting Magistrate under the supervision of permanent Magistrate Mr.M.P.Mohideen and it came to an end by about 6.30 p.m. Of the sixteen witnesses fifteen were present in court. Of them four were police personnel of Uyilankulam checkpoint, one is the owner of lodge where the suspects had stayed and two employees of a hotel where the suspects had taken meals.

After the identification parade all the suspects were produced before the Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.P.Mohideen who ordered them to be remanded till 19 August. No lawyers appeared on behalf of the suspects. The Police recorded statements of the suspects after the identification parade. The suspects were taken back to Anuradhapura prison with tight security from Mannar.