Kumudin massacre – 15.05.1985

Jaffna. Unique to the peninsula and surrounded by sea on all four sides, the Nedunduvu area is spread over an area of ​​47.4 sq km. There were more than six thousand people living in this vast territory of islands. As the people living in Nedundi have to cross the sea to Jaffna by boats to fulfill their basic needs, it became inevitable for them to travel by boats every day to fulfill their needs. The Kumudini ferry service greatly helped the sea transport of the people of Nedundivu. The ferry service departs from Nedundiveu Harbor at 7.00 AM daily and then at 5.00 PM from Nedundiveu Harbor to Nedundiveu Harbor.

On the 15th of May 1985, the Kumudini ferry started its service as usual. More than sixty passengers traveled on the ferry that day. While coming from Nedundiveud port towards Kurikatuan, the people traveling in the Kumudini boat started to get scared when the two gunboats of the navy stationed at Nainadivu, where Nainina Nagabhusani Amman temple is located, approached the Kumudini boat. In those two barges, the marines had brought with them sharp weapons like axes, knives and sickles. Seeing this, the people wept helplessly. The sailors who arrived took all the passengers, including the three-month-old baby, down to the lower deck one by one and hacked them to death with the sharp instruments they had brought without the others knowing. More than forty-two people died in this attack by the navy. More than twenty-five people were injured. Most of the injured lost their limbs. All of them came from the Kumudini boat which landed in Jaffna in the evening. They were taken to the teaching hospital.

Regarding the incident, S. Pusaprani from Nedundive said:

“Ikumuddin’s assassination was in response to the brutal incident in Anuradhapuram. Many of them were hacked to death. Many of my relatives have died in this. In this case I cut

I was hurt. While attacking pregnant mothers, they attacked the unborn child as “Kotia” (LTTE). Many were attacked indiscriminately, women and children.”

By: Tamil Genocide 1956 – 2001 Book.