Army officer arrested over grenade explosion in Diyatalawa bus
March 2, 2018 03:01 pm
A Sergeant Major of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has been arrested in connection with the recent grenade explosion inside a bus at Diyatalawa.
Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said that the army officer was ordered remanded until March 15 after being produced at Bandarawela Magistrate’s Court.
The Sergeant Major attached to the Sri Lanka Army’s 6th Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Regiment was allegedly responsible for carrying the grenade which exploded inside the bus, in which several Army, Air Force personnel and civilians were seriously injured.
Following investigations into the incident, the army officer was arrested while receiving treatment at the Diyatalawa Hospital.
The explosion occurred in a private passenger bus travelling from Jaffna to Diyatalawa caused injuries to 19 passengers on February 21 around 5.45 am while it was plying in the general area of Kahagolla, Diyatalawa.
Reports claimed that the bus after reaching Bandarawela town has transferred the passengers bound for Diyatalawa to another private bus before the incident took place.
Among the passengers were 7 Army personnel and 5 Air Force personnel.
The Commander of the Sri Lanka Army appointed a high level six-member Court of Inquiry of senior army officers to carry out a separate investigation into the incident.
