What Happened
On 24 January 2006, a white van death squad arrived at the home of the Bojan family in Manipay, Jaffna just after midnight. The men claimed to be from the Sri Lanka Army and demanded to search the home. When 23-year-old Shanuka opened the door, they immediately started shooting.
Three women were killed: mother Arthanageswary (51), and daughters Renuka (30) and Shanuka (23). Father Nagendran (56), who was Scout Commissioner for KKS and Northern Commissioner for St John's Ambulance, and son Ullasan (26), a mathematics teacher, were seriously injured but survived. The husband of Renuka, Thiageswaran, escaped by hiding in the dark and later testified about the massacre.
The family was well-respected - Renuka was an actress studying at university, Shanuka was a graduate English teacher. This was part of the wave of death squad killings targeting Tamil civilians in Jaffna during 2006.
Perpetrators
White van death squad / Sri Lankan Army
Sources & References
- NESOHR - Lest We Forget Volume II
- NESOHR report September 2006