Early in the morning on January 30 1985, about 200 military personnel stationed at the Thalladi Army camp, entered the village of Vadakkandal and began shooting and stabbing villages while the village was strafed by Air Force helicopters. They then proceeded to the Tamil Mixed School and killed the principal, teachers and students amounting to 18 persons.
Another group attacked farmers working in the field. The attack continued for over six hours resulting in 52 dead and leaving a further 40 with grievous injuries. The bodies were loaded into vehicles and taken inside the Thalladi camp.
The photograph above is of the Vaddakandal massacre commemoration held on January 30th 2017.