By Gagani Weerakoon
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) pointed a finger at the government yesterday, for the shooting incident that took place in Katuwana, killing a woman and a boy.
The party also ruled out any involvement of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) which was formed by JVP dissidents, and denied the shooting incident as being the result of an internal conflict, as claimed by the government.
“This is clearly carried out by goons operating in the area with the blessings of government hierarchies. Even the police are aware of the incident and are now attempting to cover up the main suspects. There are several eyewitnesses who identified those who came to carry out the shooting, and they have given all the names to the police when they lodged the complaint on Friday. Apart from the Rajapaksa’s, only the JVP was able to hold political ground in the Beliaththa area,” JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva, claimed.
The JVP demanded yesterday that immediate steps be taken to arrest and take legal action against the individuals accused of being involved in the incident.
“If a murder takes place and police cannot identify the murderer, or if a robbery takes place leaving police clueless about the culprit, even a kid knows today that the government or government politicians are behind the crime. Likewise, in this incident also, the police have failed to make a single arrest even after people identified and named the suspects,” he said.
Silva also said this particular thug-group is moving freely in the area and does whatever they want without any fear, as they are operating with the blessings of the top brass in the government.
“The government has eradicated all the underworld groups against it, and has established a monopoly within the underworld, Silva charged, adding, only an underworld controlled by the government currently exists and the underworld is being ‘used’ by the ruling government for political purposes, he said.
He vowed that the JVP would launch a series of protests across the Island and internationally, against this ‘crime wave’ and that a mass protest will be held in Colombo on 19 June.
Meanwhile, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) yesterday attributed the cause of the shooting to an internal dispute among two JVP groups.
Police and military operations are being carried out in order to apprehend the suspects responsible for the shooting, Director General of MCNS Lakshman Hulugalla said.
“Instead of bringing the persons responsible for the deaths to justice, the government is reducing the incident to an internal conflict within the JVP in an attempt to free the true murderers,” he charged, adding, “This is more grievous that the murders itself.”
The police said 20 statements have been recorded regarding the shooting incident that took place in Katuwana – Hambantota. Police Media Spokesperson SP Ajith Rohana said, the Police together with the Army and the Special Task Force have commenced an extensive operation to find the suspects.
