Priest killed in Santhiveli
[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 February 2007, 08:08 GMT]
A Hindu priest who had been forcefully taken to Vaharai from Santhiveli by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to garland the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse during his visit to Vaharai last Saturday, was shot and killed by armed men who are allegedly attached to SLA military intelligence, Wednesday around 8:15 p.m. near his house a few meters away from the SLA camp at Santhiveli, 36 km south of Vaharai.
The priest, Chelliah Parameshwara Kurukkal, a father of three, was taken to Vaharai by the military under the pretext of performing a pooja ceremony and made to garland the visiting SL president, according to his relatives. Santhiveli residents alleged that the priest, who was unhappy over the forced pooja in Vaharai, has been victimized by the military intelligence. Priests of all faiths have been forced to be present at the opening ceremonies of various paramilitary offices in Batticaloa and Amparai during the recent months.
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