Civil protection committee deployed in searches

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 March 2008, 11:13 GMT]
Members of civil protection committees (CPC) assisted by Sri Lanka Police launched random searches in public and private sector buses plying in various routes in Colombo and suburbs from morning till afternoon on Sunday causing tremendous inconveniences mainly to passengers amid protests by commuters, both Sinhalese and Tamil. The bus routes selected for search operation were mainly used by Tamils, media sources said.

Groups of five members of CPC without uniforms, accompanied by a police constable, stopped the buses and questioned passengers and forcibly took their identity cards and other documents from Tamil passengers, media sources said.

Sinhala passengers, and in some cases the drivers and conductors, argued with the un-uniformed CPC members for their impolite behavior, media sources said.