Personal data
Name
Kolestica Vijayakumar
Date of birth
08.07.1975
Age
32
Place of birth
–
Biographical details
Kolestica Vijayakumar was a Tamil woman from Padahuththurai, a fishing village located in Mannar district. Kolestica was married to Ramanathan Vijayakumar, a fischerman in Padahuthurai, and had five children (four daughters and a son). Kolestica was a housewife.
Her family belonged to the Padahuththurai fishing community, which is made up of about 35 tight knit extended families. Most are refugees displaced from Jaffna right after the Sri Lankan military recaptured Jaffna. The Padahuththurai location was ideal for small scale fishing which most of the men in the community did in small manual boats. Kolestica was 32 years old at the time of her murder.
Indcident
Date
02.01.2007
Location
Padahuththurai, Mannar
Description
On 2 January 2007, the small fishing community in Padahuththurai in Mannar district was bombed by the Sri Lankan Air Force. 15 civilians from the extended family including Kolestica Vijayakumar and her second daughter Priyatharshini (9) were killed. Furthermore, 35 civilians were injured. Many among the injured were permanently maimed.
The day before, on 1st January 2007, the New Year was celebrated by the community. 2nd January was a relaxed day. Kolestica, her husband and her children were all at home. For two hours, they heard the drone of the usual spy plane which concerned them but that was common. There was no noise of a bomber which would have send them scurrying for safety. Suddenly, Kfirs came and started dropping many bombs within seconds. When the bombs started to explode, Kolesticas husband run with four of his children. After the Kfirs left, he looked for Kolestica and their second daughter. The daughter was lying dead. Kolestica was injured and died in the hospital.
Legal situation (investigation/criminal proceedings)
No one was ever held accountable and there were no criminal proceedings in court. The Sri Lankan officers, who commanded it, and the responsible soldiers have not been convicted to this day.