The Mannar magistrate ordered Hamilta’s body to be exhumed and sent to Colombo for further examination. An identification parade was held on 20 July and two soldiers were identified. Another 16 soldiers are being investigated. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is also probing allegations that an Army officer and ten other soldiers were involved in several murders, rapes and disappearances in Mannar District.
In a letter to President Chandrika, 30 women organisations have expressed concern over continuing rapes in the north-east despite death sentences to the accused in the Krishanthy Kumarasamy rape and murder case. The NGOs have called for urgent measures to prevent future incidents. Colombo human rights agency the Forum for Human Dignity has recorded over 45 rapes by soldiers in the north-east since February 1996. Local agencies say many rape victims do not report their ordeal for fear of retaliation or ostracization from the community. Most rape cases remain uninvestigated. In July, the CIUAH wrote to the Sri Lankan Attorney General urging action against three soldiers accused of raping a Muslim woman at Oddamavady in Batticaloa District, in the presence of her husband.