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Anuruddha arrested

by Ranjith Padmasiri and Ravi Ladduwahetty

General Anuruddha Ratwatte was arrested last night.

The CID's arrest of the former Power and Energy Minister and Deputy Defence Minister was made at his Rajagiriya residence on a directive of the Attorney General, in connection with the Udathalawinna massacre on December 5, last year.

Criminal Investigations Department's SSP Sisira Mendis and OIC S. Abeysekera had visited the Minister's house to arrest him.

General Ratwatte, who was under blanket security following his arrest, is expected to be produced before Teldeniya Magistrate Mrs Inoka Ranasinghe today.

The CID is expected to make a request to Court that General Ratwatte be remanded for a minimum of 14 days as investigations are continuing into the Udathalawinna massacre in which 10 Muslim youth were brutally gunned down.

The Teldeniya Magistrate has also issued warrants to arrest Lohan and Chanuka, two sons of General Ratwatte in connection with the same massacre.

The CID earlier recorded a statement by General Ratwatte on February 9 in connection with the same incident. The statement made by General Ratwatte following a four hour long interrogation was forwarded to the Attorney General by the CID on February 13. General Ratwatte has denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of his two sons.

Thirty one persons are already in remand custody as suspects in this massacre. At an identification parade held at the Teldeniya Magistrate Court on February 18, five suspects were identified by all the witnesses. They were identified when six soldiers out of the 31 remanded suspects were produced for the parade. Among the five suspects identified were an Army captain, a sergeant and a major. Two residents of Madawala, Mohamad Hassen and Riyaz Mohamad were also produced before the Teldeniya Magistrate who further remanded them. This case will be taken up on March 4.

The massacre of ten youth on polls day led to mass protests by residents of Udathalawinna and other areas in the Kandy district.

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