25 year old youth becomes leader. Why should he join AAVA?
After the 2 campus students were subjected to murder at the hands of the police, 2 Intelligence Unit officers were subjected to an attack by a machette and were thus injured a few days after that and the attention of most people were
centred on a group of highway robbers known as AVA (AAVA Gangsters).
centred on a group of highway robbers known as AVA (AAVA Gangsters).
Is AAVA a racist clique? An underground clique? Why has not it been possible to possible to bring a clamp down on them and has become a failure amidst the security of thousands of Army personnel and and the police? This then is the issue that has confronted those in the South. Political dialogues too are brewing and being created about the AAVA clique.
As reported, it is a young man aged 25 years born in the year 1991 who is the leader of this gang. The true name of this youth happens to be Gunasekeram Devasudan of this underground gang called AAVA. It is also understood that his house is situated down Courts Road, Manipai. According to already conducted police surveys, this gang has been launched with the participation of a young group of a very tender age. His chief comrades are Nallalingam Prasanna (24) and Stanley Gunaseelan (22). They are residents of Kokuvil and Uduvil respectively. It is said that a large gang is attached to them; but the number has still not been confirmed as such. The youngest in this gang is is 17 years while the maximum is 30 years. Media reports mentioned that 19 members of this gang were taken into police custody during a raid conducted in the year 2014 in January with a stock of swords and machettes. Extracting ransoms from businessmen, looting, frightening people on a contract basis and killing people on a contact basis are foremost among their activities. Those who had become a prey to them are without a racist base whether they are Sinhalese or Tamils. The AAVA gang has carved a name for themselves for engaging in underground activities with the motive of getting money. It is further reported that those in the area keep their mouths shut even when some crime takes place because of the fear they have on this gang and bear up the loss they sustain and refrain from notifying the police for the fear of inviting more trouble.
Though there are rumours that this gang had existed even prior to the ethnic war and that this group had been developed with the help of the Army of former President Mahinda, such rumours are beyond confirmation. The 25 year old leader of this particular gang should be a schoolgoing lad of just 18 years at the time the said war ended.
Reports circulate that the police had fired and killed the 2 campus students with this being the root cause for this and it was this AAVA gang who accepted the responsibility through a letter conveyed that it was they who involved in the incident where the Intelligence Unit officers came in the midst of the machette assault by chance as such. Already a special team has been launched by the police with the purpose of getting at the 3 main leaders and the others. Shown below are photos of a leaflet circulated by the AAVA gang to the effect that the assault was launched on the Intelligence forces with the motive of taking revenge on the incident of killing the campus students and the moment that they were cornered with a stock of machettes in 2014.