Police uncover all.
senior Police Official told yesterday (24), that Police investigating teams have uncovered all information about the chief suspect who shot at the Police Sergeant and the Constable travelling for the protection of High Court Judge Manickavasagar Ilancheliyan, one of the three members of the committee appointed for hearing of the case against Vithya’s murder incident in Jaffna.
It has been revealed that the gunman had been a member of the LTTE organization during the six- year period from 1998 to 2004.
Investigation shave revealed further that during that period, he had participated in weapons training of the LTTE organization as well.
The elder brother of the chief suspect taken into custody in connection with the shooting incident had revealed this information yesterday (24) to Police officers. In addition it was discovered during Police investigations that there is another case being heard at the Jaffna High Court in connection with an incident of murder of an individual in Kopai through assault in the year 2012 involving the chief suspect. Police said that this murder too had been carried out by eight persons including this chief suspect and the elder brother and a cousin of the chief suspect in custody regarding the murder of the Police Sergeant are also accused of the Kopai murder.
According to the Police this chief suspect had been remanded for a period of seven months in connection with the murder of the individual in Kopai.
Police further said that four special Police teams have been deployed on the instructions of Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Northern Province, under his direct supervision as well to take into custody this chief suspect who has fled the area and is said to be in hiding.
The Police have received information that the chief suspect is a 39-year-old married man and is a bus driver by profession.
He is said to have been living with his second wife in Nallur and subsequent to this incident he had stolen a motorcycle belonging to a woman living nearby and fled the area.
During a search operation carried out during investigations into the shooting, the motorcycle the chief suspect had used had been found by the Police day before yesterday (23) while abandoned in a by lane in Ariyalai.
The Police Constable injured in the shooting had been the driver of the vehicle in which High Court Judge Manickavasaga Ilancheliyan had been travelling in, when the shooting incident took place on the evening of the 22.
Due to severe traffic congestion, which was an obstruction to the journey of the vehicle, Police Sergeant Premachandra who had been leading the convoy providing security to the vehicle, had allowed the Judge’s vehicle to move forward and been travelling on the motor bike behind. At that moment, Police Sergeant Premachandra who had seen a clash taking place in a nearby three-wheeler park had gone to the place to try and settle the conflict.
Then the chief suspect had grabbed the Police Sergeant’s pistol and shot at the Sergeant, Police said.
Subsequently the Judge had alighted from his vehicle together with the constable who was driving. Then the suspect targeted the Police Constable who tried to take action and shot at him as well. Police suspect that the chief suspect was also injured in this shooting while the Police Constable too was wounded.
The Judge had taken the injured Police Sergeant and the Constable immediately to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital and the Sergeant who was very seriously hurt succumbed to his injuries later. The chief suspect’s elder brother and a cousin who had been at the scene when the shooting took place were taken in custody by Police.