Jaffna Central College Principal shot dead by LTTE

K.S. Rajkumar reporting from Jaffna, September 12. Gunmen alleged to be from the LTTE shot and killed Mr. Rajadurai, principal of Jaffna Central College, a leading college in Jaffna. Mr. Rajathurai was shot in front of his students, when he was attending a religious function at the Weerasingham hall in Jaffna. The assassins fired several shots at Mr. Rajadurai and fled the scene. Eyewitnesses said there were at least four gunmen at the scene, but only one fired the shots.

Mr. Rajadurai had received death threats from LTTE in the past. Recently a letter was sent to him by Ellalan force the clandestine group that is well known to be a LTTE front , and was published by Nitharsanam.com, an LTTE web-site operated from Norway. In May this year, Nitharsanam.com published a warning to Mr. Rajadurai that he would be face dire consequences , without any further warnings, if he continued to ignore th edicts of the LTTE. Mr. Rajadurai's transgression is believed to have been that he allowed the broadcast of an educational radio programme from the Jaffna Central College, and LTTE was not happy about it. The particular educational programme airs on radio associated with the EPDP. Jaffna Central College also received funds from Mr. Douglas Devananda, who was a student at Jaffna Central. With the funds received from Mr. Devananda, Mr. Rajadurai built several class rooms and library facilities at the College. LTTE operatives in Jaffna had previously warned Mr. Rajadurai that no development work should be carried out at the school using funds from Mr. Devananda. However, Mr. Rajadurai, being the principal of the college, ignored those warnings and went ahead with the development of the college.

Earlier, on Tuesday night, alleged LTTE assassins also shot and killed another school principal in Kopay. Mr. Nadaraja Sivakdacham, the principal of Kopay Christian College, was shot and killed in front of his family in Kopay. It is reported that the assassins came in a motor cycle to his residence, called him by his name, before shooting him on the spot.

LTTE has intensified its assassinations recently. In the last two weeks alone, LTTE gunmen had killed at least 17 Tamils in Jaffna district alone, most of them killed in their houses or offices, in front of family members.