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Judge Illancheliyan refutes police claim he was not the target
View(s):The Magisterial inquiry into the death of Jaffna High Court Judge Manickavasagar Illancheliyan’s Police bodyguard, has been fixed for August 8.
Caught on CCTV: The suspect riding off after the shooting
On Wednesday (26) morning, Sivarasa Jayanthan (39) surrendered to Jaffna police, claiming he carried out the shooting in Nallur.
Following preliminary investigations, he was produced before Jaffna Magistrate S. Satheestharan and remanded till August 8.
Investigations revealed that Jayanthan had been a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from 1995 to 1998, when he quit the organisation. However, his wife denied her husband was an LTTE member. At present he is a bus driver at the Kurikkadduvan transport terminal.
The suspect has been detained in a separate cell at Jaffna prison and only his wife is allowed to meet him. Meanwhile, Police Sgt Sarath Hemachandra who was injured in the shooting and succumbed to his injuries was posthumously promoted Sub Inspector (SI).
Constable Hemachandra was deployed as the bodyguard for then Trincomalee Magistrate Illancheliyan about 15 years ago and the bond between them remained until his death last Sunday.
Last Saturday, he was clearing traffic for the High Court Judge’s vehicle which was following his patrol car. He stopped near the Temple road junction, adjacent to Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil.
According to Judge Illancheliyan, an individual walked up to the Sgt and tried to pull out his gun, which the Sgt resisted, and the duo wrestled each other. The man who got hold of the gun had then fired at PC Hemachandra. He then turned towards the Judge’s vehicle, which was about 10 feet away.
Judge Illancheliyan said he saw the duo wrestling and immediately got out of the car shouting, “please drop the gun”. The PC who was with him in the vehicle, stopped him and shielded him and instructed him to get into the car. In the ensuing shootout, the PC was injured in the shoulder. As there was no traffic in the area, the Judge, with the help of his driver, helped the two injured policemen into his vehicle and took them to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital.
PC Hemachandra underwent immediate surgery after sustaining severe injuries in his stomach, resulting in severe bleeding. Judge Illancheliyan stayed on at the hospital till 11.40 p.m,. Sgt Hemachandra passed away at 12.20 a.m. When Sgt Hemachandra’s family came to the hospital to receive his body, an emotional Judge broke broke down saying, the late Sgt Hemachandra sacrificed his life for him.
Refuting the Police Spokesman’s claim that, he was not the target, but that the shooting was connected to a dispute between drunken civilians, Judge Illancheliyan said there are three eyewitnesses to the shooting, including himself.
“My driver, the other injured PC and I witnessed this incident which unfolded within 10 feet of us. Without the prime suspect taken into custody and investigations ongoing, how can a senior police spokesperson make such claims?” he asked. Senior police officials in the north refused to comment as investigations are ongoing. Police Spokesman SSP Gunasekara said they would have to await the Magisterial inquiry, to ascertain the motive for the shooting.
| Sgt posthumously promoted SI, widow reinstated as an SI | |
| Like millions of middle class families of public servants in the country, who depend on State salaries, Sgt Sarath Hemachandra’s family is not an exception. He was the sole breadwinner of the family, after his wife left the police to tend to the family. Kumarakattuwa Ganhewage Sarath Hemachandra joined the Sri Lanka Police as a Constable in 1987, and married his colleague K.G. Prikyangika Kumudinee while they were stationed at Wellawatta. After their marriage, Kumudinee resigned from her post to look after the children. Their daughter Samadhi Amanda is a GCE Ordinary Level student at Nandimitra Maha Vidyalaya, while their son is in Grade 6 at Ananda National School, Chilaw. Condemning the incident as a direct assault on the independence of the Judiciary, protests and token strikes were held in the North and East this week, where civil society groups demanded justice for the killing and to bring those behind this incident to book. A floral vigil was also organised by Jaffna University undergraduates, to commemorate late SGT Hemachandra’s supreme sacrifice to protect the High Court Judge. At the late Sgt Hemachandra’s funeral in Chilaw, High Court Judge M. Illancheliyan assured the family that he will help the children in every way, as his own children, until his death. The Inspector General of Police posthumously promoted late Police Sgt Sarath Hemachandra to SI rank, for his valour. The IGP also reinstated Mrs Hemachandra in the police service as an SI, to serve in the nearest police station, as her husband was the sole breadwinner of the family.  Last rites being conducted for Sgt Sarath Hemachandra. Pix by Hiran Priyankara
 Judges from the north including High Court Judge Manickavasagar Illancheliyan (third from left) at the funeral of Sgt Hemachandra |