Personal data

Name
Mathilvathani Rasenthiralingam 

Date of birth
04.02.1988

Age
18

Place of birth
Tharmapuram, Kilinochchi

Biographical details
The pupil Mathilvathani Rasenthiralingam lived in Tharmapuram, Kilinochchi. She was born in 1988. She died at the age of 18 in a bomb attack at Sencholai Orphanage.

Indcident

Date
14.08.2006

Location
Valippunam, Mullaitivu

Description
The Sencholai orphanage was located in an area called Mullaitivu.  First aid courses were offered and held there for schoolgirls on 10.08.2006. This meeting benefited the Sri Lankan air forces to attack the building with 4 airplanes. In that attack 52 schoolgirls and 2 attendants were killed. One of them was Mathilvathani Rasenthiralingam. 130 more students were seriously injured. Three of those students were sent from the nearby hospital in Mullaitivu to a hospital in Kandy for further treatment. These three students were detained by the Sri Lankan Terrorism Investigation Department. After that, they were supposed to be released to go home and were therefore sent to Vavuniya. Unfortunately one of these students died. The other two were sent to Kandy again. This unexplained change of location and the ban on allowing them to see their parents seem very suspicious.

Legal situation (investigation/criminal proceedings)
The responsible soldiers and officers for these killings were not held accountable.