Personal data

Name
Tharsika Thiyagarajah

Date of birth
1997

Age
10

Place of birth
Pallikudiyiruppu, Muttur

Biographical details
Student

Indcident

Date
2007

Location
Kathirveli

Description
Owing to the on-going war in Muttur and fearing for her life, she had moved to the Matakalappu Kathiraveli area. She was killed there by the bombing.

The Sri Lankan government did not want the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee to meet civilians during the war and learn the truth about what was happening.

Therefore, troops were ordered to fire heavily at the locations where they were travelling to, with no regard for of the lives of the surveillance crew. This was so that the surveillance crew could not meet those people.  The ceasefire survivors escaped unhurt. The Ceasefire Monitoring Committee later issued a statement stating that it was unable to carry out its operations in Trincomalee.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Air Force’s fighter jets attacked the Verugal Murugan Temple, destroying the temple and harming those who had sought refuge there, thus resulting in them migrating back towards Kathiraveli, Vagari.

As the shortage of medicines increased, a batch of medical supplies was received from Batticaloa through the Red Cross.  People were treated using this.

Following this, the Sri Lankan military launched artillery and multi-barrelled shelling attacks on the Vavuniya hospital and surrounding areas, killing more than 70 people a day and closing the roads to the Vavuniya area.

Subsequently, people migrated and reached Batticaloa.  People sought refuge in public places and the schools there.

Using this situation, government backed gangs entered camp sites and arrested a countless number of the youths’ present. Many went missing. It is worth noting that the details of those who went missing are still unknown to date.

Legal situation (investigation/criminal proceedings)