2ND LEAD (Correction)

Paramilitary cadre dies in police gunfire - SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 September 2005, 14:31 GMT]
A paramilitary cadre from Karuna Group was shot and killed while he was engaged in a clash with a Liberation Tiger cadre Thursday morning around 9:45 a.m. Thursday, Sri Lanka Army sources claimed. The incident took place near a bus stand on Rosiro Road in Batticaloa. However, initial reports from the Police said that the policemen, upon hearing gunshots, reached the site and shot at unidentified armed men who were fleeing from the scene. One person died and another was rushed to Batticaloa Hospital.

A pistol was recovered from the dead cadre, Police said.

The dead body is lying at Batticaloa Hospital. The body is yet to be identified, according to hospital sources.

The cadre shot dead by the policemen was a Karuna Group cadre, SLA sources claimed later.

SLA sources said that the injured person was an LTTE cadre.

The injured person identified as Mr. Regionld Silva is a former liquor shop owner. He was arrested by the Sri Lankan Police and released after 7 months in police custody, civilian sources said.

The incident "amply proves that both Security Forces and the Police are dedicated to maintain law and order with no bias to any of the Tamil Tiger factions," a news release by the Sri Lanka Army claimed.