TORTURED POLICEMEN WERE RELEASED AFTER RANIL WICKREMESINGHE GOVERNMENT AGREED TO LET TIGERS RIDE WITHOUT LICENSES
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
September 20.11.40 PM:Police sources in Trincomalee District said the two police constables abducted and severely tortured by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were released by the terrorist group after high officials of the Police under the instructions of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government agreed not to arrest LTTE cadres riding motorbikes or driving other motor vehicles without licenses in the future.
The same sources said the two police officers Jayasiri Silva (25731) and M. Jaleel (25731) were severely beaten while they were prisoners of the Tamil Tigers and one officer had lost two teeth in the assault. Both are undergoing treatment at the Trincomalee Hospital.
The two injured police officers had been released to Assistant Superintendent of Police R. Samarakoon by the LTTE Commander Paduman in Trincomalee after the Norway backed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission intervened and negotiated the release of the two reserved police officers.
Jayasiri Silva and M. Jaleel, two reserve police constables who were on traffic duties were stopped while they were riding a motorbike from Nilaveli to their duty station, Kuchchaveli Police, abducted with their motor bike and imprisoned at Peraru LTTE camp from September 16 to 19. Police sources said the two officers had been severely assaulted by a group of uniformed cadres while being taken to the LTTE military camp, where hundreds of abducted school children were kept for military training with others
The same sources said at the time of the release, the two police officers were so weakened by the torture they could barely walk.
Jayasiri Silva was quoted of having said that both he and his companion were stopped by armed cadres of the LTTE. The LTTE gunmen who greatly outnumbered them surrounded the two constables and assaulted them severely. Their uniforms were wet with blood. They were taken to the military camp, about 15 miles away in the jungle. After reaching the camp the Tamil Tigers once again started beating them. Jayasiri Silva also was quoted of having said that he saw many under age children about 14 years old who had been kidnapped from their parents by the LTTE for forced military training.
The Tiger cadres reportedly told the two constables that Kuchchaveli Police was the only Police station that arrested LTTE motorbike riders for not possessing licenses. Since this station harassed them this way, Paduman their commander told them to kidnap two of them to put a stop to their attitude. Later the two constables were informed that senior officers agreed to the demand of letting the LTTE cadres riding motorbikes without licenses and hence they were released.
