ensions surged in Jaffna as hundreds of protesters gathered at the central bus stand to demand justice for a 17-year-old Tamil youth shot dead by police earlier this month.
The protest, held amid a heavy security presence, follows the emergence of forensic evidence that directly contradicts initial police justifications for the fatal encounter.
Albino Arul Pius was killed on February 10 in the Allaipiddy area of Kayts when officers opened fire on a van they claimed failed to stop at a checkpoint.
An autopsy conducted at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital has since revealed that the teenager died from a single gunshot wound that entered his forehead and pierced his brain.
The forensic report found no evidence of narcotics in the boy’s system, a finding that stands in stark contrast to a police media release issued the morning after the shooting, which alleged that a medical officer had identified the presence of “ice” and heroin in the deceased.
The victim’s mother, Janaki, delivered an emotional address during the protest, expressing a profound lack of confidence in the state’s ability to hold its own security forces accountable.
She described the killing of her son, the primary breadwinner for their impoverished family, as a murder protected by government silence.
“This government will not give us justice,” she told reporters, alleging that the legal system favours the wealthy while the poor are met with violence and intimidation.
Academic figures and community leaders joined the call for an independent investigation, alleging that the police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have engaged in a campaign of pressure against the grieving family.
Prof. Mahendran Thiruvarangan of the University of Jaffna stated that authorities are actively attempting to justify a “violent act” through misinformation.
These allegations of intimidation have intensified local anger in a region where the relationship between the predominantly Tamil population and the state security apparatus remains historically fraught.
The case is scheduled to be heard at the Kayts Magistrate Court today (24).
(Source- The Leader)
