Murunkan Police retaliates against attack, 1 killed, 4 civilians wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 09:21 GMT]
Murunkan Police Tuesday said they retaliated a group of attackers who lobbed grenade and shot at two police checkposts behind the Murunkan Police station around 2:00 a.m. Four civilians, 2 family men and 2 teenage girls, in Murunkanpitty were wounded when Police fired mortar shells. Additional policemen, Special Task Force (STF) personnel and Sri Lanka Army troopers were rushed to the site. Troopers recovered the body of a youth with gunshot injuries which the Police claimed to be of a LTTE cadre.

Some weapons were also recovered at the attack site, according to the Police.

The clash lasted for 2 hours till 4:00 a.m., Police said.

No policemen were injured in the attack. Two checkpoints have been damaged due to gun fire and grenade explosion.

The four civilians injured in retaliatory attack were admitted to the Murunkan district hospital Tuesday morning around 6 a.m.

10 Sinhalese construction workers who were staying overnight at a nearby two-story building where they were employed, were arrested by the Police for inquiries. The attackers had fired from the building, Police claimed.

Mannar Government Agent V. Viswalingam visited the wounded civilians at the hospital and the construction workers who were in Police custody. The Sinhalese workers had come from Anurdhapura, Gurunagala and Madawachchi area.

Mannar Additional Magistrate T.J. Prabakaran visited attack site to inspect the dead body, according to legal sources.