1. Nadarajah Raviraj was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of Jaffna in 2001 and a Member of Parliament for Jaffna District from 2001 to 2006.
26 Facts About Nadarajah Raviraj
1. 2.
Nadarajah Raviraj was married to Sasikala, a teacher at Bishop's College, Colombo.
3.
Nadarajah Raviraj became an attorney at law of the Supreme Court in November 1987.
4.
Nadarajah Raviraj was a human rights lawyer for Home for Human Rights from 1984 to 1990.
5.
Nadarajah Raviraj worked at the Attorney-General's Department between 1990 and 1993.
6.
Nadarajah Raviraj rejoined Home for Human Rights in 1993, working for them until 1997.
7.
Nadarajah Raviraj then started a private practice firm, Raviraj and Associates, which specialised in Prevention of Terrorism Act and Emergency Regulations cases.
8.
Nadarajah Raviraj represented clients in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Courts in Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Vavuniya and other cities.
9.
Nadarajah Raviraj was a member of the Civil Monitoring Committee which monitored extra-judicial killings, abductions and disappearances in Sri Lanka.
10.
Nadarajah Raviraj was an ambassador of peace for the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace and Interreligious International Peace Council in 2004.
11.
Nadarajah Raviraj joined the Tamil United Liberation Front in 1987, joining its central committee in 1990 and becoming its legal advisor in 1998.
12.
Nadarajah Raviraj contested the 1998 local government election as a TULF candidate and was elected to Jaffna Municipal Council.
13.
Nadarajah Raviraj contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the TULF's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected.
14.
On 9 January 2001 Nadarajah Raviraj was officially sworn in as Mayor of Jaffna.
15.
Nadarajah Raviraj contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District.
16.
On 28 November 2001 the TNA, including Nadarajah Raviraj, were campaigning in Naranthanai on Velanaitivu when they were attacked by the Eelam People's Democratic Party, a government backed paramilitary group, as Sri Lanka Navy personnel looked on.
17.
On 9 November 2006, Nadarajah Raviraj led a demonstration outside the UNICEF office in Colombo protesting against the Vaharai bombing in which 45 civilians were killed by army shelling.
18.
Nadarajah Raviraj had to drive to work himself as his driver was on leave.
19.
Nadarajah Raviraj had intended to use his wife's car but finding its battery drained got into his Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
20.
At 8.39am, as Nadarajah Raviraj was slowly driving down Martha Road and turning into Elvitigala Mawatha, when a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction stopped nearby.
21.
Nadarajah Raviraj's vehicle was hit from the front, side and rear at point blank range.
22.
Nadarajah Raviraj had been shot five times and Lokuwella eight times.
23.
Nadarajah Raviraj was clinically dead and emergency surgery was carried out but at 9.20am he was pronounced dead.
24.
Nadarajah Raviraj's body had to be flown to northern Sri Lanka because the Sri Lankan government refused to open the A9 highway.
25.
Nadarajah Raviraj's funeral took place on 15 November 2006 at the Kannadipiddy cremation ground in Chavakachcheri.
26.
Nadarajah Raviraj's assassination took place in the heart of Colombo near a security force base and on a stretch of road between police checkpoints.