Father of sixteen identifies headless body as missing son

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 January 2003, 12:03 GMT]
The decomposed headless body of Ponnar Gnaneswaran who went missing on December 31 in northern sea, off Thondamanaru coast when a speed boat of the Sri Lanka Navy rammed a fishing craft was identified Tuesday at the Jaffna teaching hospital by his parents. Ponnar identified Gnaneswaran as one of his sixteen children, sources said.

Ponnar Gnaneswaran went missing and two other fishermen seriously wounded when a Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) speedboat rammed their boat on December 31 night. The injured fishermen were taken by the SLN to the Palaly military hospital and then transferred to Jaffna teaching hospital with the permission of the court., sources said.

Earlier a body of a male person was found in the Kasurina beach of Karainagar. Later it was not found to be of the missing fisherman Gnaneswaran. However, Monday night near Kankesanthurai Sea a body was without head and two hands was found. It was then brought to the Jaffna teaching hospital in a sealed bag in a highly decomposed state Tuesday morning. Parents of Gnaneswaran identified the body as of one of their sixteen children. After the inquest, the Kayts Magistrate Mr.B.Balasubramaniam ordered the hospital authorities to release the body to parents, sources said.