Grenade attack on Batticaloa EPDP office

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 03:42 GMT]
No one was injured and the building was slightly damaged when two unidentified youths ridging a motorbike Thursday around 6.30am lobbed a grenade at the front entrance of Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP) office located in Batticaloa town, security sources said.

Police officers on duty opened fire at the motorbike but the assailants escaped unharmed, according to sources.

EPDP cadres and police personnel guard the office premises round the clock.

Kanagasabai Illanthirayan (34) and Kumarasooriyam Radhakrishnan (37) who were riding another motorbike towards the Sarvodayam building located close to the EPDP office when the grenade explosion occurred were arrested by the Police for investigations.

Police alleged that Ilanthirayan and Radhakrishnan were seen talking to the youth who threw the grenade, according to security sources. They denied any involvement with the incident and said that both of them came directly from their residence for an interview at the Sarvodayam building. During the investigations, Ilanthirayan said that the youths who threw the grenade were riding a motorbike behind them and that they do not know the identity of the youths.

Batticaloa district head of the EPDP, Pratheepan Paranitharan, accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the attack. He added that an attempt by LTTE cadres to attack the EPDP building through the Sarvodayam premises on 15 April was foiled because of the presence of security officers. "We have registered complaints with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and Sri Lanka police. Even though we have been given police protection, threat of attacks from the LTTE still remains," Paranitharan added.

LTTE denied any involvement in the incident.