2ND LEAD

Gunmen open fire at priest's house, wife seriously injured in Maanippaay, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 January 2011, 16:13 GMT]
Armed men who came in a motorbike opened fire on the family of a Saiva (Hindu) priest on Maanippaay Hospital Road causing serious injuries to 31-year-old Nimesha, the wife of the priest Sribalasundarakkurukka'l. Maanippaay is situated near Changkaanai, where a Chief Priest was shot and succumbed to his wounds two months ago. The shooting, which has taken place on the day when SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Jaffna to celebrate Pongkal has caused tension in the entire peninsula. Ms. Nimesha is struggling for her life at the intensive care unit of Jaffna Teaching Hospital, according to medical sources.

Nimesha and her husband were standing outside their house as their children were playing around 8:00 p.m. The gunmen, who came in a motorbike, opened fire on them and fled away, according to initial reports.

A Zonal Deputy Director was slain on December 26, 2010, when Sri Lankan Prime Minister was visiting Jaffna to attend Tsunami disaster day event, forcing the children of Jaffna to sing Sri Lankan national anthem in Sinhala.

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