Youth missing after arrest
[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2000, 08:40 GMT]
A 22 year old youth arrested by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from the Valaichenai Harbour View camp has been reported 'missing' according to his parents. SLA officials, when contacted by Batticaloa parliamentarian Mr.Pararajasingham, has denied the arrest of the youth.
The youth, Vinayakamoorthy Vijayarajah, of Kannakipuram, a hamlet in Valaichenai, was arrested by the SLA soldiers near a Hindu temple on January 3. He was arrested when he was cycling back to Kannakipuram, after dropping one his relatives off at Valaichenai Hindu College, about 32 km. north of Batticaloa. Witnesses say the youth was arrested near the temple, close to the school, and the soldiers took him to the camp. When the parents went to camp to verify about the their son, the SLA had first denied that the youth was arrested. However, they later told the parents that he has been transferred to the 23-2 Brigade Head Quarters for questioning. When they went to the HQ, the SLA officials has said that they did not have any information about the youth. The parents say they have visited several army camps and police stations in search of their 'missing' son and they had not been able to trace him. The parents have now informed Parliamentarians for the district Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham and K.Thurairajasingham, and to the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC).
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