9 Tamil engineering undergrads arrested by Moratuwa Police

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 June 2006, 01:15 GMT]
Nine Tamil students from Jaffna, following undergraduate course in engineering at the Moratuwa campus, have been arrested by Moratuwa Police, and are being detained at the Police station from Tuesday afternoon. Police officers did not disclose the reason for the arrests, sources said.

The students were boarded together in a house owned by a Sinhala family sources said.

Mortuwa Police officers refused to accept the University identity card and ignored pleas by the students.

The students arrested are all from Jaffna district, and they are:

1. Jegavendrapupathy Anand, 23,
2. Sreetharan Dinesh, 23,
3. Joseph Aliston, 23,
4. Thangarajah Ajanthan, 23,
5. Kanagasingham Kanagaruban, 23,
6. Denijimoshan, 23,
7. Thurairajah Nijanthan, 24,
8. Karunanithi Thushanthan, 22, and
9. Pathmanathan Mayuran, 24.

United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian, Mr Maheswaran, contacted senior police officials in Mt Lavania attesting to the bona fides of the students but did not succeed in obtaining their release.

The MP said that he has sent an urgent message to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Chandra Fernando informing him of the arrests and urging him to take action to release the students.