A court in Mullativu has issued an arrest warrant for former Northern Provincial Council (NPC) member M K Shivajilingam, after he failed to appear before a hearing in a case regarding a land grab protest in the district last year.
Shivajilingam and another former Northern Provincial Council (NPC) member T Ravikaran, have been charged for allegedly interfering government officials from doing their work, after they took part in land grab protests with Mullaitivu residents in February 2018, that obstructed surveyors from accessing around 617 acres of land belonging to the people of Vadduvakal, Mullaithivu.
The demonstrations objected against the Tamil-owned land to be handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy and led to the arrests of Shivajilingam and Ravikaran. Shivajilingam was charged with damage of state property, among other charges, with the case against the two going on for more than a year.
Alongside the issue of an arrest warrant, the latest ruling has pushed back the next hearing to May 18, 2020, after several previous deferrals.
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