‘Suspected Karuna cadres released on bail [TamilNet, July 06, 2004 14:27 GMT]

The Hingurakgoda magistrate Tuesday released fourteen Tamil youth who were arrested with assault rifles and bombs by Sri Lanka Police in a village Buddhist temple in Hingurakgoda Monday evening. They were enlarged on personal surety bail, Police said. Possession of illegal weapons is a unbailable offense under Sri Lankan law.
Sinhala nationalist media in Colombo did not report the arrest.
Meanwhile, the head of LTTE's political division in Batticaloa, Mr. E. Kousalyan said that he had conveyed message to Deputy Inspector General (Eastern Range), Mr. Nevil Wijesingha, confirming the identities of the fourteen youth as members of the renegade commander Karuna's group.
Police sources said that the released youth, who did not know any Singhalese were escorted out of court by persons from the Sri Lanka army intelligence.
''Now it is very obvious that the Sri Lankan authorities are conniving with their military intelligence and Police to gather, arm and send stragglers of the Karuna group to murder innocents and sabotage the peace. ''What happened today is a travesty of justice'', Mr. Kousalyan said.
He further pointed out that a group of LTTE cadres who were arrested by Sri Lanka Police with a box of cartridges in Batticaloa in early 2003 are still in custody because the courts refuse to grant them bail.
Police sources in Hingurakgoda who were involved in the arrest of the armed youth said that they (the youth) had told them that they were on their way to the Thoppigala jungles in the Baticaloa District. LTTE has military bases in this region.