A Struggle for Justice in the Shadow of Injustice: The Rajani Velayuthampillai Murder Case
In the mid-1990s, under the military-controlled conditions that prevailed in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, the case of Rajani Velayuthampillai was recorded as one of the most brutal human rights violations suffered by the Tamil people.
Background to the Incident and Abduction
On 30 September 1996, 22-year-old Rajani Velayuthampillai, a young woman from Urumpirai in Jaffna, had completed all preparations to travel abroad and was ready to leave. Before embarking on her dream journey, she was travelling towards Manipay via University Ramanathan Road to visit relatives and say goodbye to them.
When she attempted to pass through a military checkpoint in the Kondavil area, she was stopped and detained by the Sinhala soldiers on duty there. Her brother, who was travelling with her, was sent back, while Rajani alone was detained at the checkpoint under the pretext of questioning.
She never returned home.
Two weeks after Rajani disappeared, in mid-October, local residents became alarmed by a strong foul smell emanating from an uninhabited house behind the Kondavil bus stand. Following information provided by local residents, Sinhala police officers who went to the location discovered the body of a woman, partially concealed inside a disused latrine pit. Her jewellery, clothing and bicycle were used to identify the body as that of Rajani.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that Rajani had been brutally sexually assaulted and murdered. It was revealed that, apparently to prevent her screams from being heard outside, her own underwear had been stuffed into her throat, causing her to suffocate to death.
Following the investigation by the Sinhala police, six army soldiers who had been on duty in the area were arrested.
A crucial turning point in the case was the testimony given by a police officer named Upali, who had been on security duty in the area:
“While I was on duty at the Palaly Road checkpoint, I saw the enemy soldiers carrying Rajani, tied up like a bundle, into an uninhabited house nearby. An hour later, when they called me inside, I refused. Another hour later, when they came out, they said in shock, ‘She is dead,’ and threatened to kill me if I told anyone about it.”
Of the six soldiers who were arrested, the soldiers listed as the fifth and sixth accused turned state witnesses (Approvers). They testified that Rajani had already died while they were attempting to sexually assault her, and that they subsequently threw her body into the latrine pit.
Trial and Court Judgment (2011)
As in the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy murder case, lawyers N. Raviraj and K. Boopalasingham represented and supported the victim’s family in this case. The prosecution was led by a female lawyer named Prasanthi.
After the case had remained pending for a prolonged period—15 years—the Sri Lankan government revived the case in haste in 2011, amid international pressure and in an effort to avoid allegations of war crimes.
In its 2011 judgment, the Colombo High Court:
- sentenced three of the accused army soldiers to death.
Appeal and Release of the Convicted Soldiers (2023)
Although a sentence was finally delivered after a long struggle, the doubts and lack of confidence that the Tamil people had in Sri Lanka’s judicial system were ultimately proven justified.
After hearing the appeal filed by the defence against the death sentences, Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal, in December 2023, fully acquitted two of the principal accused—army soldiers Hevapedike Sarathchandra and Gamage Kitsiri—of all charges.
A retrial was ordered in the case of the third soldier, Gamini Saman Liyanage.
After 15 years of struggle to obtain a judgment, the case has now become yet another bitter chapter in which justice was denied to Rajani Velayuthampillai’s family and to the Tamil community, following the Court of Appeal’s decision in 2023 to overturn the convictions and release the accused.
The younger generation must know about this atrocity committed by the Sinhala forces 30 years ago, as well as the denial of justice by the Sinhala judicial system.
“History is the guide.”
With love,
Suri Chinnathurai
Translation by Hari