Alleged traitor’s body refused village burial

Angry villagers prevented the body of an 18-year-old youth who reportedly committed suicide at the CID Headquarters after he was arrested for alleged links to the LTTE, from being bought to his home in his village at Aranayake, Police said.

A group of unknown persons also set fire to Dhammika Chandrasekera’s house on Thursday night while black flags as well as banners were on display in the village decrying the move to bring the ‘bodies of Sinhala Tigers’ to the villages, HQI Aranayake police P. Kaviratne said.

Due to the villagers’ protests, the young man’s body was laid to rest at the Mawanella cemetery after getting a court order from the Mawanella Courts.

Dhammika was arrested at an Army road block at Valaichchenai in Batticaloa last November and handed over to the Police. He was held at the CID Headquarters for questioning and found hanging in his cell on Tuesday.
“We were unaware about his whereabouts. Sometimes he goes away for weeks and does not come home,” Dhammika’s father said.

Meanwhile SSP Rienzi Perera said two of the officials who were in charge of this suspect had been interdicted and disciplinary inquiries initiated against them.

During the suspect’s interrogation, he had admitted his links to the LTTE and said he had worked as a construction labourer in Kilinochchi for sometime .After his return from Kilinochchi, he had began to visit Batticaloa regularly.

Another suspect who was detained at Boossa detection camp hanged himself on Wednesday.