Abductions escalate in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2010, 02:44 GMT]
Six civilians have been reported missing in Jaffna peninsula in the last four weeks, civil society sources in Jaffna said. The latest victim, Thanarathnasabapathy Nirojan, 23, a resident of Oorkavaththu'rai (Kayts) in Jaffna failed to return after leaving home on November 29 to Vavuniyaa for business activities, according to a complaint lodged with the Jaffna Secretariat of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL).

Relatives of Nirojan have advertised in daily newspapers with the photograph and also have pleaded with the Oorkaavaththu'rai Police to trace him.

The missing persons includes a female teacher and an employee of a hotel in Nelliyadi.

The sudden increase of missing persons has caused serious concern and fear among Jaffna residents.

A 24-year-old self-employed Tamil civilian in Vavuniyaa, Tharmaraj Tharmendra, who used to travel to the towns of Mannaar, Vavuniyaa, Trincomalee and Colombo, as a trader has been reported missing since September 06, 2010.

Jeyaseelan Praveena, 27, of Kuruma'nkaadu in Vavuniyaa district has also been reported missing since Tuesday morning. Praveena who was employed as a management assistant in the Vavuniyaa District Secretariat.