4TH LEAD (UPDATE)

Father of slain woman on Kathirkaamam pilgrimage rules out rape

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 July 2011, 10:57 GMT]
31-year-old mother of two children, Santhakumari Krishnapillai, from Thampiluvil, Batticaloa, who was on a pilgrimage to Kathirkaamam was found slain in the early hours of Sunday was killed by an animal, the father of the victim told media Tuesday. The incident took place near the riverside of Va’l’liyamman Temple at Kathirkaamam. On Tuesday, the father of the woman, who was also on the pilgrimage, ruled out rape and said his daughter went aside from the group looking for a toilet pit and that he found her body after he heard her screaming for help.



Earlier, relatives of the victim who had gone to the spot had alleged that they noticed traces of rape at the site. The relatives had also said they found bite marks as well as cut injuries on her breast and semen stains on her dress, prompting a TNA parliamentarian to call for thorough investigations.

Village officials who visited the spot also differed in the interpretation and said the injury was caused by a leopard. A proper autopsy would be the only reliable way of establishing what had happened, they said Monday evening.

Post-mortem report on Tuesday established the reason as attack by leopard.

However, there were still allegations from Tamil political circles that the family and relatives had come under pressure from the Sri Lankan police following the incident.