Muslim businessman shot dead in sectarian violence

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 18:28 GMT]
A muslim businessman, Mr. M. M. Ibrahim Mohideen, a follower of a Sufi muslim sect led by charismatic cleric Abdul 'Payilvaan,' was shot and killed by two unidentified muslim gunmen on Wednesday at 9:55 p.m in Abdul Jawath Alim Mawatta, Kaththankudy, a large Muslim town 4 km south of Batticaloa, Police said.

Gunmen followed Mr. Ibrahim in a motorbike when he was returning home in his motorbike, residents said.

Kaththankudy Police conducting investingations into the killing said that the killers had used 9 mm handgun to shoot the businessman who was once president of the Kaththankudy Business Society.

Last Friday, a shoe factory belonging to another 'Payilvaan' supporter was burnt down by unidentified men.

On Monday, a hand grenade was lobbed at the Muslim Burial grounds in Kaththankudy.

Many rich Muslim businessmen and farmers on the eastcoast are followers of 'Payilvaan', who is an Islamic scholar with Sufi leanings.

Kaththankudy witnessed inter-religious violence also in November 2004.