2ND LEAD (UPDATE, ADDED PHOTOS)

Mutilated bodies of three civilians found in Puliyankulam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 April 2006, 07:50 GMT]
Three civilians who went hunting into Periyamadu jungle last Thursday from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Puliyankulam were found dead Monday, Tamileelam Police officials said. Villagers in the area have seen five men wearing dark clothes, leaving the Periyamadu jungle towards no-man zone last Friday, according to the police officials. The victims died of blood loss caused by cut wounds, according to coroner's report. Periyamadu jungle is located 7 km north of the SLA checkpost in Omanthai.



Thiyagarajah Koneswaran, 32, Sivasambu Navanthirarajah, 36, and Sivaguru Rajalingam, 34, of Periyamadu in Puliyankulam went to hunt with four dogs in the Periyamadu jungle in Puliyankulam on 13 April 2006 at 11:00 a.m., said Crime Prevention Officer Iyal Arasan who was heading the investigations.

Three of the dogs returned the same day without the men.

Villagers, together with the policemen, went in search of the missing men the same day and Friday when the fourth dog returned around 1:00 p.m.

More than 100 persons were engaged in the search on Sunday.

LTTE cadres who joined the search operation Monday located the body of the three men lying in a small clearing in the jungle.

The jungle area where the three men went to hunt is surrounded by three roads, inside the LTTE controlled area.

The state in which the bodies were found and the return of the three dogs evidenced that the men were killed on the first day itself, police officials said.

Although the foot prints have been washed off in the heavy rain, a few boot marks on a gravel mount were observed, police officials said.

There were also traces, including the depression on the bush, where the attackers have been waiting in hiding.

Judicial Medical Officer Ms. Rajini Sooriyakumar and Coroner Kanakasabai Amuthalingam from Vavuniya also visited the site, legal sources in Vavuniya said.