Police detain Gen.Ratwatte's son over shooting

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2000, 08:39 GMT]
Lohan Ratwatte, the son of former Deputy Minister for Defence, General Anuruddha Ratwatte was taken into custody Friday morning by the Police in Kandy and was brought to Colombo for interrogation over his alleged involvement in election violence and shooting. Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress said that it will urge the government to take strong action against PA politicians who indulged in rigging and violence in the Kandyelectoral district.

The Police sought the arrest of Lohan Ratwatte for threatening to kill the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police for the Central Province, Mr. H.M.S Herath at gun point and for firing on the DIG's in Kandy Thursday evening.

The Police declared curfew in Kandy Thursday following the shoot out by a heavily armed gang allegedly led by Lohan Ratwatte. Eight persons who were involved in the shoot out were arrested by the Kandy Police last night.

A Police team that went to Lohan Ratwatte's residence in Kandy after midnight to arrest him was told that he would surrender through his lawyers Friday morning.

The Minister's son was taken into custody when he surrendered to the Kandy Police this morning and was brought to Colombo for interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Police Friday.

The SLMC said that Lohan Ratwatte's younger brother Chanuka Ratwatte had led the heavily armed PA gang that attacked the polling booth in Akurana and stuffed votes for PA and Gen.Anuruddha Ratwatte on Tuesday October 10. The gang had shot SLMC supporters, killing two and wounding fifty four.

Political parties and independent polls observers charged that both Lohan and Chanuka were responsible for most of the shootings, thuggery, intimidation and rigging in the Kandy district on the day of the polls.

The SLMC said that it will demand a thorough investigation into the violence and rigging in Kandy by PA supporters and Gen.Ratwatte's sons. The party said that the government should also take strong action against the PA politician who had been directly responsible for the actions of Lohan and Chanuka Ratwatte.