Massacre inquiry delay continues

[TamilNet, Sunday, 31 January 1999, 19:45 GMT]
The inquiry into the Tampalakamam murder case in which eight Tamil civilians were killed on February 1 last year, has not begun, even after a year, due to the delay in receiving the Sri Lankan government analyst's report, court sources said.

Three police personnel, including an Inspector, and a paramilitary homeguard attached to the Kantalai Police Station have been charged with the abduction and murder of the eight civilians at Barathipuram in the Tampalakamam division, about 20 km from Trincomalee town on Trincomalee-Colombo highway.

When the four accused, who were released on bail, appeared in Trincomalee Magistrate's Court last Wednesaday, they were ordered to be present on March 24 this year.

According to plaints filed in this case,the victims were forcibly dragged out of their houses on the day of incident and taken to Barathipuram police post where they were allegedly shot dead by the accused.