Another Tamil parent who spent years searching for answers about his forcibly disappeared family members has died without learning their fate, highlighting the continuing anguish faced by families of the disappeared across the Tamil homeland.
Muthusamy Murugesupillai (78), a resident of Muthaiyankattu village in Mullaitivu District, passed away on 27 February 2026 after suffering a sudden heart attack. He had spent years seeking justice for his two sons and his son-in-law, who were forcibly disappeared after being handed over to the Sri Lankan military during the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009.
Murugesupillai’s family was among thousands of Tamil civilians who crossed into Sri Lankan military controlled territory in May 2009 during the final phase of the Mullivaikkal genocide. On 18 May 2009, he entered the area through the Vattuvakal Bridge in Mullaitivu together with his family.
Murugesupillai handed over his two sons and his daughter’s husband to the Sri Lankan military.
However, from that day onward, no information was provided about their whereabouts. The three men have since been counted among the thousands of Tamils who were forcibly disappeared after surrendering to Sri Lankan forces in the closing days of the armed conflict.
For more than a decade, Murugesupillai and his family continued to demand answers about their fate.
His daughter, Sasikumar Ranjinidevi, has carried forward the struggle while raising her young children and caring for her ageing parents. She currently serves as the secretary of the Association of Relatives of the Enforced Disappeared in Mullaitivu and has been actively involved in protests demanding truth and accountability.
On the night of 27 February, Murugesupillai reportedly suffered severe chest pain shortly after midnight and was taken to the Oddusuddan Hospital.
He was later transferred by ambulance to the Mullaitivu District General Hospital, where he died.
According to reports, when he was initially brought to Oddusuddan Hospital there was no doctor available to provide immediate treatment. Instead, he was given medication related to ulcers and referred to the district hospital for further care.
Ranjinidevi said with anguish that the delay in treatment prevented them from saving her father’s life.
Murugesupillai’s death adds to the growing number of parents of the forcibly disappeared who have died while searching for answers about their loved ones.
For years, families of the disappeared across the North-East have held continuous protests demanding the truth about what happened to thousands of Tamils who went missing during and after the armed conflict. Many of those protesting say their relatives were last seen surrendering to Sri Lankan security forces in 2009.
Despite repeated appeals to successive Sri Lankan governments and the international community, justice remains elusive. Parents who began the struggle demanding answers are now passing away one after another without learning the fate of their children.
