Lanka police questions more ruling party MPs over violence
Colombo(PTI): Sri Lankan police on Thursday questioned three more members of the ruling SLPP parliamentary group over the violent clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters in the country that killed at least 10 people and injured over 200 others.
On May 9, violence erupted in Sri Lanka after supporters of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked peaceful anti-government protesters demanding his ouster over the country's worst economic crisis that led to acute shortages of staple food, fuel and power.
Nihal Thalduwa, the police spokesman, said three former ministers were quizzed on Thursday in Parliament by a group of police's CID investigators.
Two of their colleagues who were arrested previously have been remanded till May 25.
Thalduwa said 1,059 people have been arrested for attacks on the protesters and for the violence unleashed against the ruling parliamentarians where some 78 government parliamentarians had suffered arson attacks on property.
Thalduwa said the death toll from violence had risen to 10 with the death of a person admitted to hospital with serious head injuries dying on Thursday.
Politicians were charged with encouraging them to attack the protesters. At least two of them, a former state minister and another MP, who had been identified in video footage as instigators of violence were arrested and remanded.
The government parliamentarians blamed police inaction as the cause of arson attacks against their private properties.
They charged the opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) with instigating violence which was vehemently denied by the Marxist party.
The mob destroyed several tents and other structures erected at Galle Face and also attacked some of the demonstrators. The violence saw arson attacks on the homes of several politicians, including the ancestral home of the Rajapaksas in Hambantota.
Video footage showed the entire house of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Medamulana in Hambantota city was burning.
Former Prime Minister Mahinda's House in Kurunegala was also set on fire by protesters while a mob also destroyed D A Rajapaksa Memorial constructed in the memory of the father of Mahinda and Gotabaya in Medamulana, Hambantota.
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Govt to set up Bureau of Port Security to boost port, vessel security
New Delhi (PTI): To beef up the security infrastructure of ports, the government will set up a statutory body -- the Bureau of Port Security -- that will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information of ports and vessels, officials said on Friday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday convened a meeting for the constitution of the dedicated body, the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS), which was attended by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and the Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, an official statement said.
Emphasising that there is a need to establish a country-wide robust port security framework, Shah directed that security measures should be implemented in a graded and risk-based manner, taking into account vulnerabilities, trade potential, location, and other relevant parameters.
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The meeting also noted that lessons learned from the maritime security framework shall be replicated in the aviation security domain, the statement said.
The new body, modelled on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), will be constituted as a statutory body under the new Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, and will work under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), it said.
Headed by a senior IPS officer as its director general, the BoPS will be responsible for regulatory and oversight functions relating to the security of ships and port facilities.
"During the transition period of one year, the director general of shipping shall function as the director general of BoPS," the statement said.
"The BoPS will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information, with a special focus on cybersecurity, including a dedicated division to safeguard port IT infrastructure from digital threats," it said.
The government has designated the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as a recognised security organisation (RSO), responsible for undertaking security assessments and preparation of security plans for port facilities.
The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will train and build the capacities of private security agencies (PSAs) engaged in port security.
"These agencies shall be certified and appropriate regulatory measures shall be introduced to ensure that only the licensed PSAs operate in this sector," the statement said.
