Abducted university student released

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 November 2011, 15:29 GMT]
Jaffna University Siddha Medicine student, Vetharaniyam Latheesh, who was feared abducted by the occupying Sri Lanka’s military on the Heroes Day evening, Sunday, at Thirunelveali in Jaffna, was released on Monday evening after being taken to a notorious military intelligence outfit directly operated by Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in Vavuniyaa. The release of Latheesh became possible as some Western embassies in Colombo showed interest in his case, news sources in the island said. Jaffna University students, who were harassed by the SL military after a torch was lit atop the university hostel on the Heroes Day, felt relieved and optimistic at the gesture of the international community, university circles said.

Latheesh was abducted by around 6:45 pm Sunday, when he was returning to his Siddha Medicine faculty hostel at Kaithadi in a moped, after visiting a friend in the Balasingham Hall hostel of the university at Thirunelveali, where the Heroes Day torch was lit at 6:05 pm, by unidentified people.

Latheesh was abducted in a white van near the Sivan temple of Thirunelveali.

A relative, who phoned him and got connected while he was under abduction, heard his abductors speaking in Sinhala, beating him and asking “kawuda” (means who).

News sources in Colombo said that such abductions are usually carried out in sinister and deadly ways, and end up in the killing of the victim, leaving all traces leading to the abduction carefully distorted so that nothing could be proved against the abductors.

The victim’s side was silent to local media due to fear of reprisals.

In the meantime, a news item is now released ‘making’ the student to speak that he was abducted and taken to Vavuniyaa, but not by the SL military.

All vehicles that go from Jaffna to Vavuniyaa has to pass through the military check point at Oamanthai, where every single person is thoroughly scrutinized. How did the vehicle that was abducting the student pass the security point without scrutiny, if the military was not involved in the abduction, is the question.

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