Aava Gang
The Aava Gang is a Sri Lankan motorcycle gang, active in the Northern Province of the island. The group is indicated to be around 60 members, between the ages of 18 to 25.[1] The leader of the group Kumershwaran Vinodhan, who was nicknamed ‘haavaa’ (‘rabbit’ in Sinhalese) is known under the name Aava.[2] 38 members, including the leader, have been informed to the parliament to have been arrested to date.[3]
The gang took credit for the attack on two police men in Chunnakam, which happened as revenge for the death of two Jaffna University students, who were killed in a police shooting on the night of 20 October 2016 in Kokkuvil.[4] The police attempted to portray the death of the two student as a motorcycle accident, but was pointed out by the media that the two students had sustained gunshot injuries.[2] The sword wielding gang has been suspected to have been engaged in other crimes including robbery and kidnapping.[5]
Since the end of the Civil War, there have been a large increase in drug trade, sexual and gang violence, and robberies in Jaffna.[1] The group emerged after the end of the war, under unknown origins.[5] The groups have left leaflets under the names "Prabaaharan Padai", "Sangiliyan Padai" and "Ellalan Padai", where they have demanded Tamil police officers to quit their job or to transfer to police stations outside of the Northern Province.[1]
According to Rajitha Senaratne, who also was Minister of Health under presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa, has claimed that the gang was created by the former Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and other top military officials, during the war.[1][6] The minister said although the clandestine group was originally created with the intention of targeting the LTTE, the Rajapaksa loyalists are accused of backing the AAVA gang to cause unrest and destabilise Jaffna. [7] The language and form of the leaflet supports the claim that it has possible military intelligence involvement in its publication.[2]
Senaratne implied that the so-called "resurgence" of the Aava gang in the post war context was meant to create fear among civilians in the Northern Province.[8] The Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research calls on government to put an end to the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to address gang violence in Jaffna and to release individuals held under the PTA for alleged involvement in the Aava gang.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Lanka, Gamini Gunaratna, Sri Lanka News Paper by LankaPage.com (LLC)- Latest Hot News from Sri. "Sri Lanka : \'Aava\' gang is not a terrorist group, no involvement of army, the government assures". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d "Student Killings, Aava Gang and the Securitisation of Jaffna" (PDF). Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research: 2. 2016.
- ^ "AAVA Gang leader arrested". Hiru News. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
- ^ "Two Suspected Members Of 'Aava' Gang Arrested In Jaffna". Retrieved 2017-01-31.
- ^ a b "Police nab Jaffna criminal gang". Retrieved 2017-01-31.
- ^ "Two Suspected Members Of 'Aava' Gang Arrested In Jaffna". UK TAMIL NEWS. 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
- ^ "'AAVA' criminal gang is Gotabhaya's brainchild: Rajitha – VIDEO | Ceylon News". www.ceylonews.com. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
- ^ "Confront intelligence structures and their involvement in Aava gang | Eye Sri Lanka". Retrieved 2017-02-18.