A Tamil social activist from Thiruchenthoor in the Kallady region of Batticaloa was brutally assaulted by unidentified assailants in Kudumbimalai on 14 May, in what appears to be a targeted attack linked to a planned Mullivaikkal remembrance event.
The victim, Selvakumar, was travelling by motorcycle to Kudumbimalai to notify organisers that a planned Mullivaikkal kanji (porridge) distribution had been cancelled due to the passing of a key organiser’s mother. The event, commemorating the Tamil genocide, was set to take place in the historically significant and heavily militarised Kudumbimalai region.
According to reports, Selvakumar was ambushed on the road between the Dharavai army camp and the Fifth Mile Post army checkpoint, a corridor well-known for its dense military presence. He was intercepted by four individuals travelling on two motorcycles, who reportedly spoke broken Tamil and questioned him about the planned Mullivaikkal commemoration.
The assailants then dragged Selvakumar into a nearby forested area, tied his hands behind his back, tore his shirt, and proceeded to brutally beat him with fists and sticks.
After the attackers fled, passersby found Selvakumar and brought him to safety. He has since been admitted to Sandiveli Hospital for medical treatment.
While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the assault, the location of the ambush—between two military-controlled areas—and the attackers’ targeting of a Tamil activist involved in genocide remembrance, have raised fears of state-linked intimidation.
The assault comes amid heightened tensions in the North-East around Mullivaikkal commemorations, as Tamil communities continue to mark the genocide of 2009 despite surveillance, harassment, and restrictions by Sri Lankan security forces.
