S. Shritharan

Sivagnanam Shritharan (Tamil: சிவஞானம் சிறீதரன்) is a Sri Lankan Tamil teacher, politician and Member of Parliament.

Shritharan was originally from the island of Neduntivu (Delft), Jaffna District. He was educated at Jaffna Hindu College. After school he joined the University of Jaffna.

Shritharan is married to the sister of Brigadier Theepan (Velayuthapillai Baheerathakumarn) who was a senior military commander in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Shritharan alter moved to Vaddakkachchi, Kilinochchi District. He taught at several schools in Kilinochchi District and was principal of Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalayam.

Shritharan was one the Tamil National Alliance's candidates for Jaffna District at the 2010 parliamentary election. He was elected and entered Parliament. He was re-elected at the 2015 parliamentary election.

Assassination attempt

On 7 March 2011 Shritharan was traveling in a van from Kilinochchi to Colombo to attend a meeting of Parliament the following day. Traveling with Sritharan in the van were three others including a police guard. At around 5.30pm the van was on the A12 highway near Nochchiyagama, Anuradhapura District, when three men standing by a white van parked on the roadside pulled out guns and started shooting at Shritharan's van. The men also threw hand grenades at the van. Sritharan's police guard fired back, forcing the attackers to flee in their white van which had no number plates. No one was hurt in the incident. Shritharan has blamed the Eelam People's Democratic Party, a government backed paramilitary group, for the assassination attempt. The EPDP has been implicated in a number of assassinations. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa has ordered an investigation into the assassination attempt.