Hair dresser shot dead in Atchuveli

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 May 2006, 10:56 GMT]
Two gunmen on a motor bike shot and killed Mr. Gnanam, 45, owner of a hair dressing saloon at Thambalai junction in Atchuveli north in Valigamam east, Friday morning around 8. a.m as he was opening his saloon, said sources from Atchuveli. Meanwhile, a relative of another disappeared saloon owner was held in Atchuvely checkpoint by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, tortured and threatened with death, sources said.

The fate of Vellautham Gopi, 26, a hairdressing saloon owner in Point Pedro abducted by unidentified gunmen Tuesday, 09 May, is yet unknown.

Gnanam died on the spot. He is the latest victim in the continuing attacks targeting hairdressing saloon owners in the peninsula.

Meanwhile, Kandiah Sivapathasundram, 30, Gopi's relative, has lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) office in Jaffna, saying that as he was on his way to the SHLRC office to register a complaint regarding his abducted cousin, the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers of the SLA sentry point at the Atchuveli-Vallai junction forced him down from the bus, kept him inside a latrine and tortured him, said SLHRC officials. Sivapathasundaram was held at the checkpoint for 24 hours.

The SLA troopers had warned Sivapathasundaram not to make complaints either to the SLHRC or the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and had further told that these institutions cannot do anything to help him, added the sources.

Sivapathasundram with severe injuries to his legs, is admitted to the Point Pedro base hospital from where he had sent a complaint to the SHLRC Jaffna office.

Mr. T. Surendiran, the investigation officer in the Jaffna SLHRC office said that he has called the SLA in question for enquires and that the SLHRC has confirmed that Sivapathasundram was apprehended on his way to their office to complain and added that they are preparing to hold inquires through the Atchuveli police.

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