Hendala-Wattala explosion- personal vendetta

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

Wattala police investigating the explosion inside a van while it was parked at 4th lane, Alwis town at Hendala-Wattala on Friday morning suspect personal vendetta to be the motive behind it.

OIC Wattala Police, Chief Inspector Percy Michael said the injured man identified as Samantha had been running a restaurant in Abu-Dhabi. He had returned to Sri Lanka to recruit a cook for his restaurant. Before leaving Abu-Dhabi he had owned a Rent-A-Car service but sold it to a local person.

The explosion occurred while the man sat on the driver's seat and had turned on the ignition key. He was rushed to the Ragama hospital and is receiving treatment. OIC Michael said the injured man's statement will be recorded when he is in a stable condition. A woman who was close-by too was injured in the blast. "Police will investigate whether someone had planted an explosive device due to business rivalry," he said. Further investigations are being directed by SSP Kelaniya, Nihal Samarakoon.

According to residents, the explosion caused panic among residents at Hendala-Wattala when they heard the blast around 8.30. a.m. DIG Special Task Force (STF) Nimal Leuke said, a team of STF Commandos that rushed to Hendala to investigate the blast found a pressure switch connected to a hand grenade like device concealed behind the driver's seat. The device was then connected to the ignition switch to set of an explosion.

Meanwhile, Government Analyst's Department officers who visited the scene are investigating the blast.