Athulathmudali assassination suspect arrested

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 September 1998, 13:49 GMT]
Police sources in Anuradhapura, 206 kilometres northeast of Colombo, said that the head of the local unit of the newly formed Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) was arrested yesterday in connection with the murder of Lalith Athulathmudali, the powerful national security minister in the UNP regime.

The arrested Inspected of Police was identified as Devasundara.

Police investigators under the UNP regime at the time (1993) claimed that the Liberation Tigers had assassinated him.

However, the PA disputed this when it came to power in 1994 and launched a special investigation into the Athulathmudali assassination under a Presidential commission.

The findings of the commission pointed the finger at former President Ranasingha Premadasa and security force officials who were close to him.

The main opposition party, the UNP, has charged that the government is manipulating and politicising the Athulathmudali murder investigations to its advantage.