The massacre occurred on 19 December 2000, when nine Eelamtamils including a three year old child in the Yaalppanam district disappeared from their homes in Mirisuvil in the Thenmaradchy area. The nine men obtained permission from the Sri Lankan Army to visit their homes and see their properties as they were displaced to Vadamaradchy area. Later it was reported that they were missing.

All 9 were arrested by Sri Lankan army while they were collecting the things from their homes. The arrested people were blind folded and attacked by the military. One of those arrested managed to escape and return to Karaveddi to tell the fate of the others.

On December 24, 2000 one of the missing, Mr. Maheshwaran escaped from army custody with severe wounds and injuries all over his body as a result of torture and gave information and details of the remaining eight. Based on the information provided by Ponnaiah Maheswaran, who managed to escape, and the soldier on duty at the time, Lance Corporal Ratnayake, a mass grave was dug on 25 December 2000 in the presence of police inspector Upali Gunawardhana, deputy police inspector Nimal Srinath, district magistrate Annalingam Premshankar and the district medical officer of Point Pedro, Kathiravetpillai.

The eight bodies were buried only one metre below the ground. The Tamil daily Veerakesari from Colombo quoted a hospital report on the investigation in a report: A body of a 21-year-old man was recovered from the mass grave and identified by Ponnaih Maheswaran and Lance Corporal Ratnayake. This body was wrapped in a red sari. Next, the body of a male child was recovered. His skin was flayed and his body was pink in colour. The throats of the corpses were slit with sharp knives and the arms and legs were chopped off.

This case was taken up at the Chavakachcheri Magistrate’s Court on the same day and subsequently 14 army personnel were taken into custody. Later, the case was transferred to the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court at the request of suspects to the Attorney General’s Department as they feared it would be a threat to their lives. Subsequently, it was taken up on July 22, 2002 and November 29, 2002 at the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court.

Later, the Chief Justice appointed a trial at the Colombo High Court and nominated three judges for the trial. They were Justice Sarath Ambepitiya, Justice S.I. Immam and Justice Kumar Ekaratne.

Unfortunately, Justice Sarath Ambepitiya was killed by gunmen and the Chief Justice had to appoint a new judge, after which the case was scheduled for 16 December 2004. However, when the case resumed on that day, no new judge was appointed and the case was postponed to 19 January 2005.

After more than a decade of long delays and shifting cases, the Colombo High Court sentenced army officer Sergeant Sunil Rathnayaka to death in June 2015 after a 13-year trial for the murder of eight Eelam Tamil internally displaced persons in December 2000. Among the victims were three children, including a five-year-old child whose body bore signs of torture. Sergeant Rathnayake and four other officers were charged with several offences, including unlawful assembly with intent to cause injury and murder. Although Sergeant Rathnayake was found guilty on 17 charges, the others were acquitted of all charges as there was insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Sergeant Rathnayaka appealed against the conviction and a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka unanimously affirmed the conviction in May 2019.

On March 26, 2020, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa granted a presidential pardon and released convicted death row prisoner and mass murderer, former army staff Sergeant R. M. Sunil Rathnayake.