Murder of K. Tharshan

Last updated
K. Tharshan
Died (aged 6)
Sampur, Sri Lanka
Cause of death Drowning
Known for Murder victim

Kugathas Tharshan (died 25 January 2016; also spelled Kugadas Darshan) was a 6 year old Sri Lankan Tamil boy who was raped and murdered near the Sampur High Security Zone in eastern Sri Lanka in January 2016. [1]

Contents

Background

Tharshan's family resettled in Sampur in 2015. He had enrolled at Sampur Maha Vidyalayam in the first grade, in January 2016. [2] [3] [4] Eyewitnesses had seen Sri Lanka Navy personnel from a nearby sentry point grooming Tharshan with chocolates and other food. [2] [4] [5]

Incident

On 25 January 2016 Tharshan had been playing with his brother and another boy. [3] [6] Later Tharshan's father Selvaratnam Kugathas had seen him playing in front of their home. [4] He then disappeared. [4] Tharshan's mother Kugathas Jeyavani went to find him but could not locate him. [3] [4] [6] He was reported missing at around 5:30 p.m. [2] [7] Locals started searching for him and discovered his body in an abandoned well, approximately 30 m (98 ft) from his house, near the "Vidura" navy camp. [2] [3] [4] [7] Locals initially thought that Tharshan had slipped and fell into the well. [3] [8] Coroner A. J. A. Noorullah arrived at the scene after a while and instructed a person to retrieve the body. [3] [4] [8] [9] When the body was recovered from the well at around midnight, it was discovered that Tharshan's body had been tied to a stone weighing more than 3 kg (6.6 lb), using shoe laces before being thrown into the well. [4] [10] [11] [12] According to locals there were signs that Tharshan had been sexually abused before being murdered. [2] [4] [5] [7]

Tharshan's body was sent to Trincomalee Hospital for a post-mortem. [8] [13] According to Judicial Medical Officer W. R. A. S. Rajapakshe the preliminary post-mortem has revealed that Tharshan died of drowning. [4] Rajapakshe's report was submitted to Muttur Magistrate I. N. Rilwan for further investigation. [4] The police returned Tharshan's body to his family following the post-mortem. [14] According to the police there were no signs of sexual assault. [14]

Investigation

A fifteen-year-old boy was arrested on 2 February 2016 in connection with the murder. [15] [16] However, locals have alleged that navy personnel were responsible for raping and murdering Tharshan and that the police were protecting them. [4] [14]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Six year old boy sexually assaulted and murdered in Sampur: suspicion fall on the Navy". Tamil Diplomat. 27 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "6-year-old Tamil boy brutally raped and killed near genocidal SL Navy Camp in Champoor". TamilNet . 26 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dead body of a young boy tied with stone retrieved from a well in Jaffna! – Who are brutal killers?". Tamil CNN. 26 January 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Thambiah, Mirudhula (2 February 2016). "Was child molested before drowning?". Ceylon Today . Archived from the original on 2 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Villagers fear boy was molested before death". Ceylon Today . 29 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Probe into 6-year-old's body found from well: No arrests made". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) . 29 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "Six year old Tamil boy raped and murdered in Sampur". Tamil Guardian . 26 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 "Body of child found in a Sampoor well". Ceylon Today . 28 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Santiago, Melanie (27 January 2016). "Police probe Ingiriya, Padukka, Muttur killings". News First .
  10. ↑ "Child Roped In A Stone and Thrown Into A Well". Hiru News. 26 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Body of a 6 year old found inside a well in Sampur". newsradio.lk. 26 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Ranwala, Madura (27 January 2016). "Boy dumped into well". The Island (Sri Lanka) .
  13. ↑ "Six-year-old's body found in abandoned well". Daily News (Sri Lanka) . 28 January 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 "SL police shields military culprits of rape in East". TamilNet . 27 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Teenager arrested over killing boy (6)". The Island (Sri Lanka) . 3 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Teenager arrested in connection with Sampur murder". Ceylon Today . 3 February 2016.
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