Sinhala armed gangs rob Tamil passengers from North, East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 August 2010, 08:52 GMT]
Armed gangs comprising solely Sinhala men posing as personnel of the Criminal Investigations Depart (CID) of the Sri Lanka Police are on the prowl in the South robbing Tamil passengers travelling from North and East to Colombo, according to complaints made by the victims to the police.

This has come to light with the arrest of four suspects for stealing cash, jewellery and other valuable items belonging to Tamil passengers, by producing identity cards issued to CID personnel, police media spokesman Preshantha Jayakody said.

The suspects were arrested in the Veyangoda railway station and another in the Katana town.

According to SP Jayakody, the suspects have been involved in similar robberies in Polgahawela, Mirigama, Veyangoda, Ragama and Fort railway stations.