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Mob
Injustice The witness K. Logadhas, currently undergoing treatment at the Jaffna hospital, told police investigators that he was cutting the hair of one of the soldiers when a single bullet struck his colleague who was, at the time, cutting the hair of the other soldier. Police recorded the statement of the witness amidst claims and counter claims that either the shooting incident might have been from one of the assault rifles firing accidentally or that the firing followed a dispute between two of the soldiers waiting outside the salon. "It was around 1.30 in the afternoon when five army personnel arrived at our salon. All of them were armed. Just before we started attending on two of them, they handed over their weapons to two of their colleagues who went out. Another soldier remained inside and he too handed over his weapon to the soldiers outside", Logadhas said. He
said some 20 minutes into the hair cut he suddenly heard the sound
of firing. "I saw my colleague, Jayaseelan Shantharuban fallen
on the ground. I also felt something striking me. But nothing serious
happened to me. He said he went to the nearby three-wheeler stand and pleaded for help to take his colleague to hospital. But his colleague Shantharuban, a 23-year-old, hailing from Trincomalee was pronounced dead on admission to the Jaffna general hospital. Tension
began to mount as information of the barber’s death reached
the residents. It was about one and a half hours later that crowds
began to gather at the Inuvil junction where they started demanding
the surrender of the soldiers while claiming the barber had been
deliberately shot. The crowds that turned unruly put up roadblocks by cutting down trees, pelted stones at vehicles and burnt tyres disrupting traffic on the main Jaffna-Kankesanthurai road for more than two hours. Police from the nearby Achchuveli and Chunnakam police stations rushed to the scene accompanied by riot squads in a bid to control the mob. Some of the bystanders who arrived at the spot on hearing of the incident said about a 1000 people had gathered at the junction. Police riot squads battled with the protestors for more than two hours and the situation was beginning to take a turn for the worse when Police Superintendent Charles Wijewardena backed by reinforcements arrived at the scene. SP Wijewardena informed his men he would try to resolve the matter amicably and advised the other police officers to hold their positions while he walked up to the protesters. He had been confident he would be able to resolve the problem as he had previously handled similar situations and had built up a rapport with the residents. But with dusk setting in the policemen who were some distance away from the crowds had not seen the mobs abducting the SP who was the most senior officer at the scene. They
then suddenly realized that the officer was nowhere to be seen. While the Magistrate was making preparations to proceed to the barber salon, news had spread that the police officer's body was spotted dumped on the road side two kilometres away from where he was abducted. The magistrate visited the location, at Palavodai along the Inuvil-Sudhumalai road where the body of SP Wijewardena was found. While the officer's coat remained intact, he was clad in a sarong instead of his trousers and cut and stab injuries were to be seen on the body. The Magistrate ordered that a post-mortem be conducted and the report submitted to the Mallakam courts. The Magistrate on Friday visited the salon where the shooting took place and spoke to Logadhas who was undergoing treatment for shock. The Manipai police on Friday produced the five soldiers before the Magistrate and the two soldiers who were in possession of the weapons have been remanded until August 20.
The
statement said; President Kumaratunga has appealed for calm and restraint despite all provocation. Release
2: Blames soldiers “President Chandrika Kumaratunga has denounced the unfortunate shooting incident in a barber saloon in Innuvil, on Thursday, the 04th of August 2005 involving two Army personnel, which tragically led to the killing of an employee of the saloon and the consequent killing of the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Charles Wijewardena. President Kumaratunga has expressed her deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Charles Wijewardena. “The President learns that the two armed Army personnel involved in the incident acted in contravention of military regulations on several counts. The President has directed the military and police authorities to conduct a full and comprehensive investigation into this incident. This uncalled for incident caused a violent reaction from the residents of the area leading to the killing of Superintendent of Police, Mr. Charles Wijewardena. He was an officer who was held in high esteem by the Police Department and the public. “The President is perturbed by the frequency of these provocative incidents during the past several weeks. These incidents seem to be deliberately contrived by extremist elements to invite reprisals leading to the escalation of the conflict situation prevailing in the North and East. President Kumaratunga has directed the Service Commanders and the IGP to be vigilant and to take the strictest action against all persons engaged in provocative actions. “The Government remains unremittingly committed to ensuring the safety and security of every citizen of all communities living in Sri Lanka and will not tolerate any insidious attempts by disruptive elements to create communal disharmony. This Government will not waver in its abiding commitment to ensure that law and order is maintained throughout the country.” |
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