The destruction is viewed as an attempt to create further divisions between Tamils and Muslims in the district. The SL police is allegedly involved in activities creating dissension between Tamils and Muslims by engineering such attacks, informed sources in Kaaththaankudi told TamilNet Tuesday.
The hands, legs, face of the statue were badly damaged.
A watcher of the fuel filling station, who witnessed the motorbike squad, was taken into custody by the SL Police in Kaaththaankudi.
Certain elements in the ruling UPFA were protesting against the use of Arabic in the East in the beginning of 2011.
Later, in September, name boards in Tamil were destroyed by an unknown squad, allegedly operatives of Colombo.
The welcome board “Va’nakkam, Batticaloa welcomes you” in Tamil was removed and the Sri Lankan police was spreading a rumour that certain Muslim leaders, including the Batticaloa Urban Council chairman considered “Va’nakkam” in Tamil as harem at that time.
In the meantime, M.L.A.M.Hisbullah, a deputy minister in the Rajapaksa government has condemned the attack on the Swami Vivekananda statue as an irresponsible act of some ‘criminal elements’.