Lanka intensifies crackdown on terror suspects; 16 more held
Colombo: The Sri Lankan authorities Thursday intensified their raids with the help of the army and arrested 16 more suspects in connection with the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday that killed nearly 360 people and left over 500 injured.
The arrested people were being interrogated at length by the investigation sleuths in connection with the bombings.
Nine suicide bombers, believed to be the members of a local extremist group National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels.
As many as 359 people have been killed in the attacks while 500 others injured, according to authorities.Officials said that with the arrest of 16 more people on Wednesday, the total number of suspects under police custody has risen to 76.
Many of the arrested people have suspected links to the NTJ, the group blamed for the bombings. However, the NTJ has not claimed responsibility for the attacks.The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks and identified suicide bombers who carried out the devastating blasts.
Authorities have deployed thousands of troops to help police carry out search operations.Over 5,000 army personnel have been deployed around the country.
"During the last 24 hours, there have been no major incidents. We have deployed over 6,300 troops. This includes 1,000 from the Airforce and 600 from the Navy," military spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said.
Meanwhile, a minor explosion happened behind the magistrate's court at Pugoda, the western province town, 40 Kms north of Colombo. There was no immediate report of any casualty.
The Police said that the explosion occurred in a garbage dump and that there were no injuries. A probe has been launched to ascertain the cause.
Search operations of suspected properties, arrests and detention of people and to place road blocks for such operations have been facilitated by the newly-enforced emergency regulations.
The regulations were adopted without a vote in Parliament on Wednesday.The curfew which was imposed at 10 PM on Wednesday was lifted at 4 AM on Thursday.
President Maithripala Sirisena has convened an all-party meeting. He would meet religious leaders. Both parleys are to discuss the attacks dubbed as among the five deadliest terrorist attacks carried out since the 9/11 in the US.
Though Sirisena has asked police chief Pujith Jayasundera and defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando to step down, there was no confirmation if they have resigned.
The police chief's position is an independent post determined by the Constitutional Council. He cannot be constitutionally removed unless he resigns himself or removed thorough a parliamentary procedure, officials said.
Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the head of the local catholic church, has asked all churches to stop masses until the situation improved, his office said.
On Wednesday, the Sri Lankan government admitted that "major" intelligence lapses led to the horrific coordinated attacks.
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KERC increases electricity tariffs for commercial, industrial consumers
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission has reduced electricity tariffs for agricultural pump sets for 2025–26 from the earlier uniform rate of Rs 8.30 per unit to a range of Rs 6.57 to Rs 7.79 per unit across the state.
However, the Commission has increased tariffs for select commercial and industrial consumers by 10 paise to a maximum of 95 paise per unit.
As per the Commission’s order, the revised tariffs are as follows: LT-3a (low-tension commercial) consumers will pay a fixed charge of Rs 235 per kW and an energy charge of Rs 7.10 per unit, while LT-5 (industrial) consumers will be charged Rs 165 per HP as fixed charges and Rs 5.20 per unit as energy charges.
In the high-tension segment, HT-2a (industrial) consumers will pay a demand charge of Rs 365 per kVA and an energy charge of Rs 6.70 per unit, while HT-2b (commercial) consumers will pay Rs 390 per kVA as demand charges and Rs 6.90 per unit as energy charges.
The revised tariffs were notified in an order issued on March 3 after the Commission allowed a review petition filed by five state-run electricity supply companies—Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, Mangalore Electricity Supply Company, Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation, Hubli Electricity Supply Company and Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company.
The order, however, does not specify the date from which the revised tariffs will come into effect.
In its earlier tariff order dated March 27, 2025, the Commission had fixed the LT-4a tariff uniformly at Rs 8.30 per unit across all ESCOMs.
Consumers in the LT-4a category — primarily agricultural pump set users — are provided free power supply, with the state government reimbursing the cost through subsidies.
According to the order, the petitioners informed the Commission that despite the Government of Karnataka allocating Rs 16,021 crore towards subsidies for free power supply to LT-4a consumers, the ESCOMs would not be able to fully recover the cost of electricity supplied under the earlier tariff structure.
The Commission noted that this would leave distribution companies with no option but to demand payment of the balance amount from farmers, leading to “unexpected and undue hardship” for the agricultural community, which it described as the backbone of the state’s agricultural production.
The reduction in the LT-4a tariff would, however, result in a revenue shortfall of Rs 2,362.47 crore compared to the tariffs considered in the order under review.
Observing that it was necessary to safeguard farmers’ interests while ensuring that ESCOMs reasonably recover costs, the Commission said the review petition could be allowed under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The petitioners informed the Commission that the Government of Karnataka has allocated an additional Rs 2,362.47 crore, supplementing the existing budgetary provision of Rs 16,021 crore, recognising that the entire financial burden should not be passed on to consumers and must be partially borne by the government.
The petitioners further stated that they will mobilise Rs 1,107.60 crore through miscellaneous revenue.
“The balance shortfall to be met by increasing tariffs for industrial and commercial consumers, amounting to Rs 1,254.88 crore, appears reasonable and justifiable,” the Commission added.
