Mysterious explosion at checkpoint near Batticaloa border

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2004, 09:02 GMT]
A Police constable, two homeguards and a lorry driver received minor shrapnel wounds when a grenade lobbed by unidentified persons near a Sri Lanka military checkpoint at Sevanapitiya on the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa road exploded Sunday night around 8.30 p.m.

The lorry was slightly damaged in the explosion. The vehicle was carrying bags of rice from Kalmunai to Colombo, Police said.

''We are investigating whether it was an accident or a deliberate act'', a Police officer in Polannaruwa said.

Sri Lanka Police and military have resumed searching vehicles on the main road to the Batticaloa district.

Sevanapitiya is about 60 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa close to the district's border with Polannaruwa.