2ND LEAD (Correction)

Police officer shot dead in Chenkalady

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 21:17 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a security patrol unit of the Chenkalady police Sunday around 8:05 a.m near the Chenkalady police sentry point killing a police constable, said Eravur police.

Officer M. Chandrasiri, 45, from Dehiyanthara region in Galle, succumbed to his injuries while he was being taken to the Eravur district hospital, hospital sources said.

The police opened fire immediately after the attack but no one was injured, sources said.

Traffic was blocked along Batticaloa-Chenkalady road for more than an hour while the police cordoned off the area and conducted search operation. No one was arrested, said local residents.

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has been informed of the incident.

Chenkalady is located 13 km North of Batticaloa.