Jaffna man killed by Police fire in Anuradhapura

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 November 2004, 06:58 GMT]
A sixty year old man from Jaffna who was returning from Colombo in a van with relatives from Germany was shot dead by Police in Anuradhapura around 3.15 a.m Tuesday. Anuradhapura Police said that the van was fired at because it did not stop when it was signalled to do so. However, the van driver told Vavuniya Police that he did not stop because the person who signalled at Jaffna Junction in Anuradhapura town was not in Police uniform.

The vehicle had been checked by Police at four places on the way from Colombo, including Anuradhapura. Drivers have been scared by the spate of vehicle robberies in these parts in recent months.

The driver of the van, Mr. Ponnambalam Thavendran, had driven to Vavuniya with the mortally wounded man, fearing for the lives of the others in the vehicle.

Drivers and passengers have been killed by hijackers in nothern border areas.

The dead man was identified as Mr. Ramalingam Subramaniam also known as Kondavil Maniam.

Officer in Charge of Crime Branch, Vavuniya Police, Mr. H. M Shantha Tilakaratna, is conducting investigations.