Ex-EPDP Chairman shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 May 2003, 17:44 GMT]
Former chairman of the Karaveddy south/west Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) Mr.Tharmarajah Jeyarajah was shot dead Saturday around 6 p.m. at Thumpalai Maniayakaran junction near Point Pedro by unidentified gunmen who came in a motorbike, police sources said.

Forty-year-old Jeyarajah was a father of three children and was elected Chairman of the local body on behalf of para military Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). He was removed from his office with the dissolution of the local body when its life term expired recently, police sources added.

Two unidentified gunmen stopped the jeep in which Tharmarajah Jeyarajah was returning home from the Nelliady office of the EPDP with two others. The deceased is alleged to have attempted to attack gunmen with sword, which he had at that time in his jeep. The gunmen had shot him through his forehead and fled the scene, police said quoting civilians in the area.

One of the two persons accompanying the deceased in the jeep fled from the scene with gunshot injuries but has not yet reported to any hospital in the Jaffna district. The other person had made a statement to the Point Pedro Police about the shooting, police said.

Residents of the area said the Police who visited the scene of incident had later recovered some swords from the jeep of the deceased.

Tension prevails in Vadamarachchi area following this shooting incident.

The EPDP immediately claimed that the LTTE was responsible for this murder.

The LTTE officials in Jaffna denied that their cadres were involved in this crime, sources said.

The Police and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) rushed to the scene and started investigations.

The Point Pedro Magistrate Mr.Annalingam Premashankar visited the scene and instructed the police to hand over the body of the deceased to Manthikai hospital for postmortem examination, medical sources said.