Over 600 Tamils were arrested in Colombo and its environs over the past two weeks as Sri Lanka’s security forces stepped up their cordon and search operations ahead of the country’s 59th Independence Day celebrations on Feb 4.
Over 550 Tamil people were arrested in the week ending on Sunday, Sri Lankan Independence Day.
More than 300 persons, majority of them Tamils, were arrested during a combined cordon and search operation in the Fort and Pettah areas of Colombo on February 4 itself.
The Colombo Magistrate Monday allowed an application by the police to send those arrested in cordon and search operations conducted in Fort and Pettah in Colombo on Saturday and Sunday to the notorious Boosa detention camp located in the southern province.
On Saturday, 266 Tamils, including53 women, were arrested in a dawn to noon house-to-house search operation by hundreds of police and armed troops in Fort area and its surrounds.
Of them about 70 were held overnight, with the rest released after inquiry.
Most of the arrested were permanent residents of Jaffna district, living in Colombo now.
Police said the suspects had been arrested when they failed to prove their identities and the reasons for their presence in their location. They are being held in police stations for interrogation.
Vehicles garaged in houses and business establishment were also searched during the operation.
They were interrogated following the recovery of a claymore mine in a three-wheeler during the search operation at Maligawatte on Saturday.
Eleven civilians, mostly Tamils, were arrested in a house-to-house cordon and search operation by the Sri Lankan security forces in Nugegoda, a suburb of Colombo on January 30.
The arrested civilians allegedly failed to produce necessary documents to prove their identity, and to provide plausible explanation for their presence in the area.
On the same day, another 27 civilians including three women, majority of them Tamils, were arrested in Colombo north during a search operation on vehicles plying between Kandy and Colombo.
About 1500 vehicles were subjected to severe checks and travellers were interrogated.
The previous weekend, 18 Tamils, including 11 women, were arrested during a cordon and search operation in houses and lodges at Soysapuram in Moratuwa. More than 700 Tamils were interrogated during the cordon and search operation.
On January 25, another eleven Tamils were taken into custody during a cordon and search operation in Dehiwela in Colombo.
Most of those arrested were aged between 25 and 40, and had been staying in Dehiwela with relatives and friends. They were also mainly natives of districts in the North-East.
On January 23, a female Tamil passenger of a train bound for Galle from Colombo was arrested on a tip off that explosives were hidden in a compartment.
The train was stopped at Ratmalana and each passenger was thoroughly searched. Nearly two thousand passengers were in the train at that time.
The operation lasted for about four hours, but no explosives were found in the train.
It was not clear why people were kept on board for all that time, given the official reason for the search that explosives were on the train.
Over 550 Tamil people were arrested in the week ending on Sunday, Sri Lankan Independence Day.
More than 300 persons, majority of them Tamils, were arrested during a combined cordon and search operation in the Fort and Pettah areas of Colombo on February 4 itself.
The Colombo Magistrate Monday allowed an application by the police to send those arrested in cordon and search operations conducted in Fort and Pettah in Colombo on Saturday and Sunday to the notorious Boosa detention camp located in the southern province.
On Saturday, 266 Tamils, including53 women, were arrested in a dawn to noon house-to-house search operation by hundreds of police and armed troops in Fort area and its surrounds.
Of them about 70 were held overnight, with the rest released after inquiry.
Most of the arrested were permanent residents of Jaffna district, living in Colombo now.
Police said the suspects had been arrested when they failed to prove their identities and the reasons for their presence in their location. They are being held in police stations for interrogation.
Vehicles garaged in houses and business establishment were also searched during the operation.
They were interrogated following the recovery of a claymore mine in a three-wheeler during the search operation at Maligawatte on Saturday.
Eleven civilians, mostly Tamils, were arrested in a house-to-house cordon and search operation by the Sri Lankan security forces in Nugegoda, a suburb of Colombo on January 30.
The arrested civilians allegedly failed to produce necessary documents to prove their identity, and to provide plausible explanation for their presence in the area.
On the same day, another 27 civilians including three women, majority of them Tamils, were arrested in Colombo north during a search operation on vehicles plying between Kandy and Colombo.
About 1500 vehicles were subjected to severe checks and travellers were interrogated.
The previous weekend, 18 Tamils, including 11 women, were arrested during a cordon and search operation in houses and lodges at Soysapuram in Moratuwa. More than 700 Tamils were interrogated during the cordon and search operation.
On January 25, another eleven Tamils were taken into custody during a cordon and search operation in Dehiwela in Colombo.
Most of those arrested were aged between 25 and 40, and had been staying in Dehiwela with relatives and friends. They were also mainly natives of districts in the North-East.
On January 23, a female Tamil passenger of a train bound for Galle from Colombo was arrested on a tip off that explosives were hidden in a compartment.
The train was stopped at Ratmalana and each passenger was thoroughly searched. Nearly two thousand passengers were in the train at that time.
The operation lasted for about four hours, but no explosives were found in the train.
It was not clear why people were kept on board for all that time, given the official reason for the search that explosives were on the train.
