Deceased shot from behind at close range: JMO
When Pakiyarajah Sutharsan, a mason from Kulamangaal, Mallakam, returned from Qatar 3 months ago, he wouldn’t have thought his life would end shortly in his own village. He was killed last Sunday when police fired during an attempt to control two gangs fighting each other with swords.
As the breadwinner to a family of four, he was building a home for his family. His family and friends claimed he was not involved in any violent activities, as police alleged, but only intervened when his cousin was attacked by a rival gang.
On Wednesday, by 6.45pm, two gangs from Elalai and Kulamangaal areas of Mallakam, armed with swords, knives and iron bars, clashed near the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in the Chunnakam police area, over a personal issue, as the feast was in progress inside the Church.
Eyewitness said two members of a gang ran inside the Church looking for another individual. Meanwhile, other gang members started attacking the victim’s cousin outside the church and the victim ran outside to save his cousin, when two police personnel attached to Thellipalai police division intervened. “He came outside and embraced his cousin, begging him to leave immediately, as the situation worsened. The police personnel on seeing the armed gangsters, fired from behind,” an eyewitness said. The witness further added that, after the shooting, the policeman told onlookers that he is from Thellipalai police station. Soon after, he was picked up by two other colleagues who came on motorbikes.
The Judicial Medical Officer's (JMO) report confirmed that the victim was shot from behind at close range, with the bullets passing through his lungs and exiting from his chest. The report also noted that there were multiple external injuries on his body.
After the victim was sent to hospital, angry villagers blocked the main access road to Kankesanthurai shouting slogans against police. The police along with Special Task Force (STF) arrived at the scene to bring the tense situation under control.
Shortly after the deployment of the STF, Mallakam Magistrate A. Judson visited the area and inquired from the locals why the police were being prevented from accessing the crime scene, when some angry locals confronted the Magistrate asking on what basis the police had fired, and demanded justice for the victim.
However, police suspect the shooting victim could have been involved in the clash, as he sustained severe internal injuries caused by assault, as the postmortem report revealed.
Northern Province Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Roshan Fernando told the Sunday Times police had to use maximum power in self defense, as two violent gangs with swords and sharp weapons, terrorised the area. “According to the Law, police can use maximum power to protect themselves and the public, when responding to such violent situation.”
Rejecting the locals’ claim of victim’s innocence, DIG Fernando said, "According to preliminary police investigations, it has been established that two violent gangs clashed near the temple and the victim too, was involved in the brawl, when police intervened to bring the tensed situation under control."
“The villagers can claim otherwise, but we will submit all the relevant evidence including the JMO report which indicates the victim was under the influence of alcohol, and statements from the arrested suspects, once the Magisterial inquiry is fixed. Let the court decide,” DIG Fernando said, while noting that it is too early to comment on ongoing investigations, even before the Magisterial inquiry.
By Friday, the police had arrested 14 persons allegedly involved in the clash and for disrupting public peace, as many villagers blocked the KKS Road shortly after the incident. All suspects were remanded till June 29.
As police searched for more than 40 youth, for their alleged involvement in the gang violence, Thellipalai police on Wednesday arrested a 41-year-old State employee for participating in the roadblock, following the incident. Local residents alleged that police are trying to frame false charges saying the victim was engaged in gang violence, to justify the killing in selfdefense. Meanwhile, the regional Office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) launched a comprehensive probe into the incident the following day, recording statements from eyewitnesses to the incident.
HRCSL Regional Coordinator for Jaffna, T. Kanagaraj told the Sunday Times that statements they recorded from suspects under police custody, differed significantly from the statements police obtained from suspects in Sinhala.
“Soon after we realized this by comparing the statements, we informed the police to re-record their statements in Tamil, as that would be reasonable,” Mr Kanagaraj said, while emphasizing that the HRCSL probe would be concluded shortly.