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Jaffna killings: Students want to meet President
View(s):By Chris Kamalendran
The Jaffna University Students’ Union, through the University’s Vice Chancellor, is seeking an immediate appointment with President Maithripala Sirisena to ask for a fair inquiry into the alleged police killing of two undergraduates and for reasonable compensation to be given to their families.
Meanwhile, more than 5,000 university students have been boycotting lectures since Thursday in protest against the alleged killings of 23-year-old Natarajan Kajan and 24-year-old Pounraj Sulakshan.
Jaffna University Science Faculty dean Ratnam Vigneswaran said the students from the university’s seven faculties had been boycotting lectures since Thursday after submitting a petition to Vice Chancellor Vasanthy Arasaratnam. Academics and the staff, however, were reporting for duty, though students continue to boycott lectures, he said.
The students’ union is also appealing that the National Police Commission should intervene to ensure an impartial inquiry.The two students were killed on the night of October 20 in Kokkuvil, six kilometres from Jaffna town. Initially, police claimed that the two victims died of injuries suffered after their motorbike crashed into a wall. The Judicial Medical Officer’s report on the deaths revealed that the rider had a bullet wound in the chest while the pillion rider suffered head injuries after the motorbike crashed into the wall.
It later transpired that a group of police officers on patrol had allegedly opened fire on the students after they had allegedly ignored signals to stop. Police though, made no mention of the shooting initially and claimed the two students had been killed in the accident.
Five police officers have been arrested and interdicted over the incident. They are now in remand. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is conducting further investigations.