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Attempted assassination of Defence Secretary:
Bomb brought in CARE vehicle
Ranjith PADMASIRI
Investigations have revealed that the bomb that was exploded at the
Pittala Junction in Kollupitiya targeting Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa has been brought to Colombo from Kilinochchi in a vehicle
belonging to CARE International, an INGO, the Kotahena Police informed
the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court yesterday.
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Gotabhaya Rajapaksa |
The vehicle and all suspects involved in transporting the bomb have
been taken into custody.
The police also produced before Chief Magistrate Nishantha
Hapuarachchi a copy of the detention signed by President Mahinda
Rajapaksa as the Defence Minister order in respect of Chandrabose
Selvachandran alias Michael alias Selvarasa.
Kotahena Police also informed the Court that the Police have detained
suspects Sivalingam Arunan, Patmanathan Iiyer Sriskandaraja Sharma and
Arunasalam Arumugam Perumal at the Foreshore Police Station for further
investigations in connection with this assassination attempt.
While Dharmalingam Dharmadaran and Rasiah Kannan, employees of CARE
International have transported the bomb from Kilinochchi to Colombo,
Sivalingam Arunan had been looking for a safe place to keep it. When a
safe house was found through one of his friends at Rudra Mawatha,
Wellawatte the bomb had been transported in a CARE International van and
buried there. Later, it was transported to Modera and fixed to the
three-wheeler of the suicide cadre Lateef Mohamed Faris.
The other parts that were fixed to the bomb had also been transported
to Colombo in the same vehicle belonging to the above INGO.
Police also informed the Court that the vehicle will be handed over
to the Government Analyst to obtain a report whether it has transported
explosives.
The Magistrate ordered that Ponnasamy Karthigesu who had facilitated
the purchase of the three- wheeler used in the suicide blast to be
further remanded till July 2009.
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CARE International
CARE is a leading international organization operating in more than
65 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern
Europe.
It has more than 14,500 employees worldwide. More than 90 percent
CARE International staff are nationals of the countries where it
operates.
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