Tamil woman arrested at politico's funeral in Ratnapura

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 April 2008, 05:15 GMT]
Ratnapura police Thursday arrested a Tamil woman attending a funeral event of a leading member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Police said she was taken in for questioning on suspicion that she being a member of the LTTE, reports from Ratnapura said.

Piyadasa Belletagama, a senior members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), died last week at Ratnapura after a brief illness. He earlier served as a member of the Sabragamuwa Provincial Council and later served as an advisor to the party.

Senior minister, advisors to President Mahinda Rajapakse and senior ministers participated in his funeral on Thursday.

The suspect Tamil woman aged about 40 also came to attend the funeral. Police said the woman failed to prove her identity and to provide satisfactory answer for her visit to the funeral.

SLA soldiers who were on duty in civil arrested the woman first. Initial inquiry had revealed that the woman used to go abroad frequently.

She is being detained and interrogated to ascertain whether she had arrived in Ratnapura to cause harm to politicians attending the funeral, police sources said.