SLA arrests 15-year old boy in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 February 2003, 19:20 GMT]
The Vavuniya district judge, Mrs. Srinidhi Nanthasekaran, ordered the police Monday to hold a 15 years old boy, arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Iranai Illupakulam High Security Zone in Vavuniya, under the custody of the court until February 26th so that his parents could be notified.

The boy, Pakianathan Mohanakanthan, of Mullikulam, was arrested by the SLA on Sunday at 4:30 pm and handed over to the police, police sources said. He was produced in court with an axe, which the police said he had with him when arrested.

The police told the court that according to the SLA, there were five people who entered the HSZ and when Army personnel attempted to arrest all of them, all except the boy escaped. The boy said in court that he was going to chop firewood, accompanied by his parents and a relative, and they accidentally entered the HSZ. He said that he is studying at a school in Mullikulam.

The judge then made an order to produce the parents before the court through the Village Officer of the Mullikulam area where the boy said he is from. The judge also ordered that the boy’s school principal be informed.