Karuna will be quizzed if necessary

Government Defence Spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella yesterday said that the renegade LTTE leader Karuna Amman will be interrogated only if there is a necessity pertaining to his involvement in the mass killing of over 400 policemen in Mutur in 1990.

Responding to a question asked by a journalist at the weekly defence media briefing at the Media Centre for National Security, Minister Rambukwella said a commission has been already appointed and inquiries are being conducted.

When asked whether Karuna will be interrogated since he has returned to the country the Minister said if the information related to the case made it necessary to do so, Karuna will be questioned as well.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror this week Karuna admitted that the policemen were in his custody at the time he was still part of the LTTE but added that they were killed after he handed them over to LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman.

“They were not supposed to be killed. I was told to hand them over to Pottu Amman to be taken to Jaffna. Later I learnt they were shot dead on the way to Jaffna. I had no direct hand in their killing. Yes it was something that should not have happened but I was not directly involved,” Karuna said.