PLOTE member shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 1999, 16:46 GMT]
K.Uthayakumar alias Kannadikumar, 38, a senior member of the PLOTE military wing was shot dead around 7.30 p.m. this evening by an unidentified gunman near his house in Kovilkulam, a suburb of Vavuniya.

A person identified as Kopalan who was also in the shop was wounded by the gun fire.

The gunman who was riding the pillion of a motorcycle had opened fire with an assault rifle, killing Uthayakumar on the spot.

He and his accomplice had sped away on the motorcycle before PLOTE cadres rushed to the area said sources.

The wounded person was rushed to the general hospital in Anuradhapura.

The PLOTE's military wing has its main office and safe houses in Kovilkulam.

The area is considered a stronghold of the Tamil group.