Trinco slaying: Survivor implicates STF, By Poornima Weerasekera
A key eyewitness yesterday implicated the Special Task Force (STF) in the killing of five youth in Trincomalee and claimed that the doctors who treated him and the only other survivor had identified the STF as the perpetrators of the crime in January 2006 .The witness Kokularaj Pararajasingham was earlier scheduled to give evidence at the public hearing of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) via video conferencing but failed to appear in person citing security concerns and a statement was read on his behalf by David Savage a member of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP).

“There are two main reasons why Mr. Kokularaj is reluctant to appear before the Commission. Firstly, he is very conscious of his physical injuries and is still traumatized from that incident and he is also fearful for his safety though he is in another country,” Mr. Savage said.

“The doctors said it was the STF who shot us after the explosion. They had removed 7 to 8 bullets from my body in addition to several pieces of shrapnel from the explosion. But neither the harbour police nor the CID ever asked me about the shooting incident,” the statement quoted the survivor as saying. “My other surviving friend said after the grenade exploded the STF who were dressed in camouflaged uniforms came and dragged us to the back of the vehicle and beat us. After the beating they threw us back on to the ground and shot us many times. This was when my five friends died.”

Mr. Kokularaj said following the incident he was living in constant fear as he knew it was the STF who had tried to kill him and that some of his friends had also started getting threats and had decided to leave the country. “I could not continue my studies due to the injuries. I was a normal boy working hard at university but now I suffer from continuous nightmares. I am suffering from severe stress and trauma and my life has become very different from what it would have been,” the statement said.

Pararajasingham Kokularaj and Yoganathan Poongulalan escaped certain death by pretending to be dead while their friends were reportedly shot at point blank range. The other five students were beaten and shot in execution style near the Gandhi statue at the Trincomalee sea front on January 2, 2006 after a grenade was initially thrown at them from a passing auto rickshaw.

“Shrapnel hit my head and I lost consciousness. When I regained consciousness after two hours in the hospital I saw that Poongulalan was being treated in the same ward. Doctors said I had lost about 4.5 litres of blood. I thought I had only suffered injuries from the hand grenade explosion. It was only later that I learnt that I had been shot at,” Mr. Kokularaj’s statement said.

The hearings are open to the public and the media and the key witnesses have been given the opportunity to testify via video conference owing to fears over their safety and security though most of them were now living overseas.

The lawyer appearing for the STF said the statement could not be excepted as at least the witness should be heard if he did not want to be seen.

Source: http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=9480