Police demand better security

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A conference was held at the Kalmunai police station today, to seek ways whereby security at the police stations and posts in the Kalmunai area could be strengthened, said sources in Batticaloa.

The conference was chaired by B K C Perera, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Amparai Range) and included the senior officers serving in the Kalmunai police area.

The police are using the shoot-out at Kalmunai police station yesterday and the grenade attack in Kalmunai town in March where seven policemen were killed, to argue that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had infiltrated the Kalmunai area, and hence call for more stringent security measures at the police stations, said sources.

However, it was established that an ex-soldier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was responsible for the shot-out yesterday. The gunman went berserk in the station, killing policeman and civilians.

The police are giving a twist to the story because of their rather embarresing retreat from the station along with a panic striken plea for reinforcements, said sources.

The beefing up of security around the Kalmunai police station would further hamper civilians from going to the station and lead to the alienation of the police from the public, said sources.