Increased ethnic harassment by Sinhala police in Kaathaankudi

Sinhala policemen employed at Kaaththaan-kudi police station, which is located at Magnchan-thoduvaay in Batticaloa district are ethnically targeting Eezham Tamils subjecting them for harassment and extortion, Tamils from Ma’nmunaip-pattu and and Ma’nmunai North complain. Both the Criminal Investigation Division policemen and the Traffic police attached to the station are asking for favours from travellers on the road who are from nearby Tamil villages.

Intentionally finding small faults and threatening to file cases the policemen have been asking the people, particularly Tamil males, to provide construction material in exchange of avoiding police cases.

Tamil women, especially school-going girls, are being stopped at the police posts and asked to provide their phone numbers, school teachers complain.

The Sinhala Officer-in-Charge of Kaaththaan-kudi Police, A Wedagedara, last week ethnically confronted the temple board of a Tamil folk temple, Ka'n'naki-amman, as he refused to give permission to stage Thiruk-ku'lirththi night-event on 09 June. The OIC has refused the temple administration to proceed with the temple event which features devotional songs throughout the night. Ku'lirththi is a ritual observed to propitiate the deity as a remedy for drought, natural calamities and other miseries.