Batticaloa Villages assaulted by STF personnel

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Three women were whipped publicly by the Special Task Force (STF) on the Batticaloa - Kalmunai highway at Kottaikallar, 25 km south of Batticaloa Friday morning, said ex militant sources in Batticaloa when contacted by Tamil Net.

The STF, which had been on a routine road clearing operation, had witnessed two families at Kottaikallar engaged in a private dispute.

Taking advantage of the situation, they had ordered three women to come out on to the main road and whipped them, they said.

Meanwhile, villagers of Palukamam, 28 km southwest of Batticaloa were assaulted severely by the Kaluwanchikudy Special Task Force (STF) and police, when they (the STF) were unable to find Niththiyandan, a suspected member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who was supposed to be hiding in the area.

The STF and police who had mounted a small scale operation to capture Niththiyandan, accused the villagers of Palukamam of harbouring a terrorist, the sources said.