Grenade attack, extortion threats unsettle Vavuniya businessmen
[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 12:34 GMT]
Unknown attackers on Wednesday lobbed a grenade at the residence of a businessman in Vavuniya, sources in Vavuniya said. No one was injured in the attack. Five traders have registered complaints with Vavuniya police that persons claiming to be belonging to Karuna group have threatened over the phone demanding large sums of money, Vavuniya Police said.
Incidents of extortion demands by the paramilitary callers were on increase in Vavuniya before the talks in Geneva. This reached a low in the later part of February, but has threats have resumed, said a businessman from Vavuniya. Head of LTTE Political Wing has brought the escalating extortion threats to the notice of the Vavuniya Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Wednesday, said sources in Vavuniya. Vavuniya District Judge Manicavasagar Illancheliyan, on Wednesday, convened a special meeting of Village Development Officers (VDO) and Village Officers to discuss the tribute money demands and ways of stemming robbery. He requested the public to co-operate with the police in their investigations, VDO sources said.
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