Three Sri Lankan soldiers have been arrested over the murder of a 32 year-old Tamil man, Ethirmanasingham Kapilraj, in Mullaitivu.
On August 7, a Sri Lankan soldier had called Kapilraj and four others to the 13 Battalion of Sri Lanka National Guard's military camp in Muththaiyankaddu, Mullaitivu, to collect metal scraps from the camp.
The five Tamil men went to the camp but were chased and attacked with sticks and rods by several Sri Lankan soldiers. To escape, three of the Tamil men jumped in a nearby pond and fled, one Tamil man was attacked but saved by members of the public, but Kapilraj had gone missing.
Kapilraj's body was later found in Muththaiyankaddu tank yesterday morning. Kapilraj's relatives believe that he was murdered by the army and his body was then thrown into Muththaiyankaddu tank.
Mullaitivu District judge Dharmalingham Pratheepan has inspected the body and has ordered for the body to undergo medical testing.
A team of police officers including the Officer in Charge (OIC) of Mankulam police station, the OIC of Oddusuddan police station and the OIC of Puthukudirippu are currently investigating the murder. As part of their investigation, the police went to the military camp whilst a group of local residents gathered outside and had a heated argument with the police officers as they urged them to swiftly investigate the murder.
The three soldiers were arrested by Oddusuddan police and have been remanded until August 19.