New Sri Lankan government orders reinvestigation of several high-profile cases
Colombo (PTI): Sri Lanka's new government has ordered the police to reinvestigate some high-profile cases, including the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks and the 2005 murder of a Tamil minority community journalist.
The ruling National People's Power, which won the presidential election last month, pledged to reinvestigate past cases which had not been resolved.
The Ministry of Public Security took action to identify any lapses in investigations.
“The ministry has asked the acting police chief that these cases should be reinvestigated," Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said on Saturday.
The cases to be reinvestigated include the alleged scam in the issue of Central Bank bonds in 2015 blamed on the then government of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former president, and the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed over 270 people, including 11 Indians.
The catholic church has been demanding stringent action on what they alleged was a politically motivated cover-up by previous governments on the attacks.
Among the other cases that are to be investigated are the 2005 murder of Tamil minority community Journalist D Sivaram and the 2006 abduction and disappearance of a Tamil minority academic who headed the Eastern University at the time.
The 2011 disappearance of two political party activists in the northern capital of Jaffna is also on the list.
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Four Iranian crew on boat caught with Rs 5 cr foreign cigarettes off Gujarat coast
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Indian Coast Guard has intercepted a foreign boat in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat and apprehended four Iranian nationals after seizing 200 cartons of foreign brand cigarettes valued nearly Rs 5 crore, the ICG said on Sunday.
The operation was carried out on Saturday off the Dwarka coast where a vessel, identified as Al Mukhtar and manned by four Iranian crew, was found concealing 200 cartons containing about one lakh packets of foreign brand cigarettes.
The international market value of the consignment is estimated at Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 5 crore, the ICG said in a post on X.
The boat was being escorted to Porbandar in Gujarat for further investigation and joint interrogation of the crew by security agencies, it added.
"On 21 Feb 26, @IndiaCoastGuard ship intercepted a suspicious foreign boat inside the #Indian #EEZ, approximately 115 NM west of #Dwarka. The vessel, identified as Al Mukhtar, was manned by four #Iranian crew. On rummaging, 200 cartons containing about one lakh packets of foreign brand cigarettes were discovered concealed in the holds," it said.
Earlier, the ICG and Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a joint operation on February 16 apprehended two Iranian nationals with more than 200 kg of suspicious narcotics off the Gujarat coast.
