Vavuniya Courts hears case of missing youth

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 December 2003, 11:33 GMT]
Ariyathas Puvaneswary, mother of Ariyathas Vijayakumar, who went missing after 15 August 2000 when he was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from the Vavuniya 211 Brigade, gave evidence at the Vavuniya courts when the case was taken up for hearing under District Judge M.Ilancheliyan, legal sources in Vavuniya said.

Vijayakumar is from Kaathar Sinnakulam area of Vavuniya district.

Ms.Puvaneswary said her son was arrested at 4pm on that day by SLA soldiers who came in a white van but when she went to the 211 Brigade quarters to inquire the whereabouts of her son, the SLA told her that they did not arrest her son.

"We searched for our son frantically in many SLA camps and Brigade quarters and couldn't locate our son. But a youth named Sasikumar, who was released from Kalutara jail after a few months of my son's disappearance, told us that when Sasikumar was held at 211 Brigade quarters he saw my son after 15th of August," the mother said in her evidence.

211 Brigade SLA Commander and the Attorney General of Sri Lanka have been named as defendents in the case.

Captain Nalinda Nallaperuma who appeared for the defendent, Military Commander, cross-examined the witness.

Col.Ratnayake, Commander in charge of the 211 Brigade appeared in Court and told the judge that he was appointed to his position only on 27 June 2003 and that he is unable to give any details of the incident which is alleged to have happened in the year 2000. The Judge then ordered the Police to release Col.Ratnayake and to continue the investigations against the Brigadier named in the case.

The inquiries began in Vavuniya after the Colombo High Court where the case was originally filed ordered the Vavuniya High Court to conduct inquiries and submit a report, legal sources said.