The Jaffna Judge, Srinithi Nandasekaran, was given the orders by the Sri Lankan Justice Commission not to perform any duties outside the courts. In other words she was ordered not to go to the spot to investigate murders. Why?

The Judge and the victims

As the number of killings, disappearances and threats increased, civilians in Jaffna became too frightened to even lodge complaints with the police fearing reprisals from the Sri Lanka military. In June the Judge issued an advice to the civilians. That advice included the following.

Three dancer-sisters lit up the Chennai stage nearly half a century ago. The most popular among the three Travancore sisters, Padmini, exited the stage on Sunday night, snatched by a massive heart attack. As she bowed out, it is curtains for an era of cinema — an era that had crowned her queen.

Born in Poojapura, Kerala, on June 12, 1932, to Thankappan Pillai and Saraswathi Amma, Padmini came after Lalitha and before Ragini (both of whom died earlier). It was dance that brought the sisters into the limelight and a combination of fine skills of acting and dancing that kept Padmini there for nearly four decades.