SLA arrests, beats-up students

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2000, 14:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested four youths from Karuvakerni near Valaichenai in Batticaloa at 3 am today morning and severly beat the youths before releasing them, said village residents.

Two of the arrested youths, S. Hemanathan and Sureshkmar, are students of the Karuvakerni Vidyalayam (school). The other two, Mathavarajah and Nathan, are brothers.

SLA soldiers who went in armored vehicles surrounded the houses of the youths before arresting them. The soldiers then cordoned off and searched the villages of Sunkankerni, Kondayankerni and Karuvakerni, concluding the operations at 9 am this morning.

Sources said that two of the youths assaulted are receiving medical treatment at the local hospital and that one of the students, Hemanathan, is due to sit for the G.C.E (Ordinary Level) examinations starting tomorrow.

Karuvakerni residents alleged that another brother of Mathavarajah and Nathan was behind providing information to the SLA on the youths. The informant brother had recently joined a Tamil militant group and that he was acting to settle past scores with the youths, residents added.

Karuvakerni is located 30 km north of Batticaloa town.

Meanwhile, the village of Kinnaiyadi was cordoned off and searched by SLA on Saturday morning. The SLA soldiers completed a house-by-house search, ordered the villagers, men and women of all ages, to assemble at the Kinnaiyadi play ground and conducted investigations.