Para-military shot dead

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 September 1998, 18:19 GMT]
Suspected members of the Liberation Tigers shot dead a member of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation, a Tamil para-military group operating with the Sri Lankan army. The incident occurred last night in Chenkalady,16 kilometers north of Batticaloa, while the TELO cadre was on patrol duty.

The TELO cadre was identified as Sinnathamby Thilakanathan alias Kannan,22. Sources said that he was formerly a supporter of the LTTE and that he was arrested in early 1997 by the SLA and had served a term in the Bandarawela Rehabilitation centre for Tiger suspects. He had joined the Razeek group soon after his release in May this year. Recently, he left Razeek and attached himself to the TELO camp at Chenkalady which functions under the directions of the Kommathurai SLA base nearby.

In his evidence at the inquest into the death of kannan held this morning before Batticaloa coroner K.Weerakutty, Muththupillai Muthurajah of the Chenkalady TELO camp said that deceased had gone on a routine night patrol with a group of armed TELO cadres under the command of S.Velmaran around 10 p.m last night. Kannan, according to the witness, had been walking ahead of the group which was about 500 yards from the camp when shots had been fired. The TELO group had returned fire and retreated. Later when they had gone back to the spot they had found Kannan dead on the gravel road to the local Periyathambiran temple, the witness Muthurajah said.

The Ervavur hospital medical officer Dr.S. Sukumar who examined Kannan's body said that he had been shot at very close quarters in the mouth and chin. Informed sources in Chenkalady, however, said that the TELO group had taken to its heels when the shots were fired and had later returned to the spot with the SLA to recover Kannan's body.