Kokuvil village is situated in the Nallur AGA Division. Kokuvil, Pirambadi Road is about 500 metres west of the Jaffna University Medical faculty.
On 12 October 1987, the Indian forces stationed in the Palaly military camp moved forward in heavy military vehicles towards Jaffna town along the Railway Station Road. It rounded up the Pirambadi Road and started shooting at the people inside their homes. Forty civilians, including babies, women and elderly were killed in this massacre.
On the same day another section of the military moved through a different route and rounded up Potpathi Road. It arrested the people living in the road and took them to the community building located 400 metres northwards from the Kokuvil Pillayar temple. There it ordered the people to lie on the road and ran heavy military vehicles over their bodies. All together 64 civilians were killed in this massacre.
In these incidents that took place in Pirambadi and Potpathi lanes on 12 October 1987 more than one hundred civilians were killed.
Thechenamoorthy Sivarajalingam of 87, Potpathy Road in his affidavit said,
“My brother, Thedchanamoorthy Thavarajalingam aged 44, a Health Supervisor, his wife Thavarajalingam Kanagamalar aged 38, his sons,Thavarajalingam Haran aged 10, Thavarajalingam Gajendran aged 6, and his daughter Thavarajalingam Dharmika aged 18 months were living in their house at 24, Pirambadi Lane, Kovuvil. Another nephew of mine, Harshan aged 11, was also living with my brother’s family.
On that day, we heard heavy firing in the direction of my brother’s house. I could go to his house only the next day around 7.00am. There I found the bodies of my brother, his wife, and their baby daughter inside the house. There were two more bodies in my brother’s house compound.
I found the three boys, Haran, Gajendran and Harshan hiding under the bed in one bedroom. Gajendran and Harshan were injured and were bleeding.”
Nagalingam Nageswari of Ward-7, Nainathivu said in her affidavit,
“I was living with my married older brother Nagalingam Jeevaratnam at 24, Pirambadi Lane, Kokuvil. Our parents died few years earlier. There were, my brother, his two children Kausala and Manoharan, my sisters Anandagowri and Sarathadevi and myself in the household.
From about 1.00am on that day, we were all kept awake by the sound of gun fire. About 5.30am, the Indian soldiers entered the compound of our house and asked us to come out of the house. While the soldiers were in our compound we heard shells exploding nearby. Then, perhaps frightened by the explosions, they turned their guns on us. They shot dead my brother and his six year old son Manoharan. Both my sisters and seven year old niece Kausala were injured by the gun fire and they were later admitted to the Jaffna hospital.”
