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MAGISTRATE ORDERS THE ARREST OF TAMIL TIGER SUSPECTS IN THE TORTURE KILLING OF THE VICE CHAIRMAN OF A PRADESHIYA SABHA
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles The acting magistrate of Batticaloa Mr. Vinobha Indran giving a verdict of homicide at the inquest into the death of EPRLF Vice Chairman of the local government body of Poratheevu Pattu Pradeshiya Sabha said it was a murder committed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and ordered the Vellavely Police to arrest suspects. Poopal Pillai Alagathurai(35) who has been missing since December 16 was found with severe torture marks on his body in the Mandoor lagoon in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. Alagathurai’s body was found showing torture by his captors after six days since he was missing minus his arm and severe cut marks on the neck, December 21. He was allegedly abducted by the terrorists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 25 days after he entered in to a new wedded life with A. Indra Sujahini. His wife of 25 days Sujahini, giving evidence at the inquest said her husband belonged to a rival political party of the Tamil Tigers called EPRLF (Vardaraja Perumal Sect). She said she came to know that LTTE cadres Mailvahanam Paramarajan and Ramaiah Rajan had taken him away telling him they had something important to discuss. Since that reported incident he had never returned and the alleged abductors were also missing. P. Vijayaraja, the brother of the deceased giving evidence at the inquest said the local leaders of the LTTE, a Fascist political group who would not tolerate any other political group working in the area, directly and by mail demanded from his brother to resign from the elected political post he was holding but he refused to do so. He said the threats came from local LTTE leaders Suda, Satchu Master and Eeswaran. The magistrate ordered the Vellavely Police to arrest all suspects. Police sources said that the LTTE has increased its violence against its political opponents and suspected informers among the Tamils in the Eastern province in a new effort to consolidate power under the terrorist group’s new commander Karuna. Tamil political groups who were formerly armed for their own protection by the government had to be disarmed when Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe entered into a shaky ceasefire agreement with the terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the LTTE. Opposition political parties have complained to human rights organizations that the LTTE abducts and kills all political opponents in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. The LTTE is openly advocating a one party polity for the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka contrary to the provisions of fundamental rights granted to its citizens by the constitution of Sri Lanka. (EOM) (27/12/02 go2lanka.com) |