DIG Masanamuthu said interrogation would be made with 3,670 refugees in the camp whether they might have kept the ammunition for supply to LTTE.________________
(June 08, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Over 40 kgs of ammunition used for AK 47 and 3.3 model pistols were seized by police on SIPCOT campus near Gummudipundi yesterday.
Investigations are on to assert whether the ammunition was kept for supply to LTTE, as a refugee camp was located nearby.
Police said there were many scrap melting units on SIPCOT campus. The units were used to segregate the metal which was mostly imported through ships.
The metal was dumped near a ruined well belonging to Housing Board inside SIPCOT campus.
It is said most of the workers in the metal scrap were Lankan refugees whose camp is situated a kilometre away from SIPCOT.
They also used to bathe near the well and as usual, seven of them were about to take bath yesterday.
One of the refugees Yogendaran had thrown a cigarette butt reportedly near the scrap metal and it exploded.
Two persons Jayson Krus (15) and Nagulaswaran (25) who were standing nearby received serious injuries. They were rushed to government hospital in Chennai.
Meanwhile, a police team led by Tiruvallur SP Senthamarai went to the spot to investigate. They recovered some filled gunny bags kept around the well.
After opening them, police found 40 kgs of ammunition and they were sent for a detailed examination.
Police are also involved in pumping out the water from the well to see whether there were any more bags of ammunition.
Interrogation is on with the owners of the metal scrap to know whether they had imported the ammunition from abroad and hidden it in sacks, said DIG Masanamuthu.
He also said interrogation would be made with 3,670 refugees in the camp whether they might have kept the ammunition for supply to LTTE.
A RDO enquiry has been ordered into the incident and probe has already begun, he said.
Following the blast and recovery of ammunition, tension prevailed on SIPCOT campus and its surrounding areas
- Sri Lanka Guardian
Post a Comment