Residents in Vavuniya are in a state of fear as Sri Lankan police officers visit homes demanding personal information.

Sri Lankan police visited the houses of residents in the garden areas of Vavuniya this week, and handed over forms requesting resident details; stating that they will come back to retrieve the requested information.

Locals state that the request for individual details without any clear information or reasons has created a state of panic among the public.

Details requested on the form include name, address, occupation, National Identity Card number and telephone number of the occupants of the houses.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara claimed that Naufar Moulavi and Hajjul Akbar, who are members of the Islamic State (IS)-linked National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ), were the masterminds of the Easter Sunday bombings which claimed the lives of over 250 people in 2019.

A Tamil mother has submitted a complaint at the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission in Jaffna, after being bombarded with threatening calls for advocating the release of Tamil political prisoners.

Tamil diaspora institutions, including United States Tamil Action Group (USTAG) and People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL)  have condemned the arrest of Jaffna's Mayor and called for an "unequivocal message" from the international community to signal that his arrest is "an unacceptable abuse of power".

Responding to the arrest of Jaffna Mayor, Viswalingam Manivannan, under charges of “attempting to resurrect the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the United National Party have issued a statement condemning the arrest under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and stating that “an inquiry into any alleged wrongdoing […] must be carried out by the relevant Ministry prior to any police action”.

Canadian politicians have condemned the arrest of the Mayor of Jaffna V. Manivannan by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) and demanded his immediate release.

Following Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID)'s arrest of Jaffna Mayor Viswalingam Manivannan, Tamil political leaders have issued stern condemnations of the police and TID’s actions.

Manivannan was arrested under charges of attempting to resurrect the Liberational Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following allegations that the uniform worn by the Jaffna Municipal Council task force resembled those worn by the LTTE’s police. The task force was established to enforce penalties against environmental infractions such as littering and spitting

UPDATED 1730 GMT

Addressing a virtual press conference on 5 April, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, defended their vote against the UN Human Rights Council resolution by claiming that it was “politically motivated” and stating that “Sri Lanka has done its own investigation”.

A Tamil lorry driver who was brutally attacked in public by a Sri Lankan police officer and had his shirt ripped, insisted that he “wants justice” and that “no one should ever have to face this kind of injustice”.

Kalaimakan Praveen, a Tamil lorry driver working in Pannipitiya, was thrown to the ground by a Sri Lankan constable who then proceeded to jump on his body.