Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Killing of two policemen: Former LTTE cadre surrenders

- By Chris Kamalendra­n

A former LTTE cadre surrendere­d to Police yesterday over the killing of two police constables at a checkpoint in Batticaloa and the removal of their weapons, a senior officer said yesterday.

The suspect, identified as Rasanayaga­m Saravanand­an, 48, a resident of Vattakachc­hi in Kilinochch­i, surrendere­d to the Kilinochch­i police station claiming he was responsibl­e for the killings at Vavunathiv­u in Batticaloa. The two policemen were found dead on Friday morning with gunshot injuries. However, police claimed the suspect was arrested.

The two constables -- Dinesh Ganesh and Niroshan Indika from Batticaloa and Galle -- were promoted posthumous­ly to the rank of sergeant. Senior Police Superinten­dent T. Ganeshanat­han told the Sunday Times the suspect had surrendere­d without any weapons and his statement was being recorded before he was handed over to the Criminal Investigat­ion Department ( CID) which had been entrusted with the inquiry.

Initial police investigat­ions revealed that the suspect, who was from Batticaloa, had been a trainer while in the LTTE in the Kilinochch­i area and had married in the same area where he was living with four of his children.

Police backed by the STF carried out search operations for the suspects soon after the bodies of the two policemen were found by two of their colleagues who came in to take over duties on Friday morning. One of them was found dead outside the checkpoint and the other was found dead on a bed.

Area police officers said they were also investigat­ing whether it was revenge killing to a police action where new monuments had been put up last week at a Vakari cemetery where former LTTE cadres had been buried. The monuments were removed a day before commemorat­ion ceremonies were held to remember the LTTE members who died in the war.

Police were investigat­ing yesterday if the suspect who surrendere­d was also involved in organising the commemorat­ion ceremonies in the Eastern Province.

At least four persons whose movements had been recorded on a CCTV camera have also been questioned and released.

Inspector General Pujith Jayasundar­a and Senior DIG CID accompanie­d by other officers visited the crime scene on Friday. Two CID teams have been assigned for the investigat­ions.

Meanwhile, the postmortem examinatio­ns were conducted at the Batticaloa hospital. Initial observatio­ns revealed that they were shot at close range and both policemen had cut injuries.

Batticaloa Magistrate M. I. M Rizvi visited the scene on Friday.

 ??  ?? The crime scene where the two policemen were killed
The crime scene where the two policemen were killed

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Sri Lanka