Sri Lankan police opened fire and killed a 17-year-old Tamil boy in Jaffna, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The killing happened as the occupying police force shot at a vehicle that allegedly failed to comply with orders at a checkpoint.
The teenager has been identified as Albino Arul Bias, a resident of the Vattukottai area.
According to police, officers were on duty at a checkpoint at the Alaipiddy junction along the Jaffna–Urkavalthurai road when they attempted to stop a Hiace-type vehicle. Police state that the vehicle failed to halt, so they opened fire.
After the vehicle was brought to a stop, the teenage boy who had been inside was found to have sustained critical gunshot injuries. He was subsequently transported him to Jaffna Teaching Hospital for emergency treatment.
Despite medical intervention, he later succumbed to his injuries.
An autopsy conducted on the teenager confirmed that the fatal bullet entered his forehead, penetrated his head and pierced his brain.
The post-mortem examination was held today at Jaffna Teaching Hospital in the presence of Judicial Medical Officer M. Mayurathan.
According to the autopsy findings, the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, with the bullet striking the boy’s forehead before penetrating the brain.
The post-mortem findings further intensify concerns surrounding the use of lethal force by Sri Lankan police in the Tamil homeland.
Two other individuals who were inside the vehicle at the time of the shooting have been taken into custody by Sri Lankan police. Authorities have stated that one of those arrested is from the Vattukottai area, while the other is from Nallur.
The incident has raised renewed concerns amid the continued occupation and militarisation across the Tamil homeland, where security forces retain expansive powers and operate checkpoints routinely, even years after the end of the armed conflict. Tamil civil society groups have long warned that such practices disproportionately endanger Tamils and often lead to fatal consequences without accountability.
