Official vehicle hijacked

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 August 1998, 03:18 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) hijacked the official vehicle of the Divisional Secretary (DS) of Kaluwanchikudy, at Kaluthavalai, 15 km south of Batticaloa, on Thursday around 8:45 a.m. and transported it across the lagoon in a makeshift ferry made by fastening two rafts, said Sri Lankan police.

K. Karunakaran, the DS, usually parked his double cab pickup at the Chettipalayam Special Task Force (STF) camp.

On Thursday, he and his chauffeur had driven out of the STF camp and were proceeding on the road when they were asked to stop by the LTTE at Kaluthavalai which is about one km from Chettipalayam, the police said.

Local residents said an incident of this nature has occurred after a long lapse.