Three persons killed in Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 July 2005, 05:36 GMT]
Three persons, two Muslims and a person with Sinhala-Tamil mixed background, were shot and killed by unidentifed gunmen at the Sixth Mile post, Akkaraipattu on Thursday night. The killers had stopped the persons, who were travelling in a three-wheeler, tied the victims hands behind before shooting them dead, Police said. Soldiers from the Special Task Force (STF) and Police personnel are deployed in Akkaraipattu town as the situation in the area was reported as tense following the discovery of the bodies Friday morning.

The victims have been identified as Abdul Lathif Rivaz, 26, a father of 4 children from Union Road in Akkaraipattu, Mohamed Nazar, 25, from Sea Road in Akkaraipattu and Jayasekara Banda Kucharanan, from Veerachanai in Palugamam, Batticaloa.

The three-wheeler was burnt by the killers.

Akkaraipattu Police Officer In-Charge (OIC), Mr. Sathees Gamage conducting investigations into the killings, said no arrests have been made and the motive of the killing was not known.

The eastern Muslim town of Akkaraipattu is located 64 kilometers south of Batticaloa.