Tragedy at Sivam Kovil

This was perhaps the first time where an assassin was apprehended thanks to the heroism of the public

It was at the dawn of the New Year when gun shots reverberated inside the Sivam Kovil at Kotahena just before the Pooja began creating pandemonium among devotees. Most devotees ducked for cover by bending instantaneously while others ran inside the temple to escape the mad gunman brandishing a pistol in his hand.

The gunman with a short hair cut and clad in a white shirt and black trouser had opened fire on T. Maheshwaran the Member of Parliament (MP) who was participating in a religious Pooja at the entrance to the kovil. The gunman who was standing about ten feet away from the MP had aimed his pistol and fired a few shots at the MP wounding him fatally. MP Maheshwaran slumped to the floor after being hit on the chest and the head with bullets.

Thereafter the gunman swung to a side and fired at one of the MP's bodyguard's standing near him. He too slumped on the ground after being seriously wounded. However due to erratic firing several persons who were standing close to the MP were seriously injured.

There were eleven persons wounded inside the Kovil premises including four women. Devotees in the Kovil were shocked as they could not believe what was unfolding before their eyes. A ruthless paranoid man who entered the kovil was shooting at the devotees randomly. Several spent bullet casing were littered on the Kovil floor.

While the gunman was firing indiscriminately, another body guard of MP Maheshwaram who stood among the crowd aimed his revolver and shot the gunman wounding him severely. The gunman dropped his pistol on the floor and ran inside the Kovil to find an escape route.

But as there were no escape route he was trapped inside the kovil. Several people who were inside the kovil grappled with and overpowered the assassin. They handed him over to policemen who rushed in there shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile MP Maheshwaran and eleven others injured in the shooting incident were rushed to the Colombo National Hospital. However Maheshwaran succumbed to his injuries while being treated at the Intensive Care Unit.

Another person who succumbed to his injuries was identified as 21 year old Mahendran Chandrakumaran. Meanwhile of the ten persons injured were four females who are being treated at the Colombo National Hospital. According to hospital sources three persons were said to be in a critical condition.

Although several persons were gunned down in the past by pistol gangs roaming about in Colombo and its suburbs, none of them were caught, hampering investigations that could shed light on their nefarious activities.

This was perhaps the first occasion where an assassin was apprehended due to the heroism displayed by the public. According to DIG Colombo Range, Nimal Mediweka, the assassin had been identified as one Johnston Collin Ballentine, a temporary resident of Thelagapathe Road Wattala. He is a native of Gurunagar in the Jaffna area.

The suspect is being interrogated by a team of officers from the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) under the directions of DIG Nimal Mediweka. The national identity card recovered from his possession is suspected to be a fake one.

Meanwhile the police have searched his house at Thelagapathe road Wattala and recovered 31 live ammunition. "Nobody knows for sure whether he was involved in a string of assassinations that plagued the Colombo city during the past few years." police said.

"This clearly shows his complicity in other horrendous crimes committed in Colombo and elsewhere. Why did he possess such a large number of ammunition and for what purpose," were the questions raised.

However the police are tight lipped not to reveal more details to the media until investigations are completed. Undoubtedly the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) interrogating the suspect will be able to extrapolate more information about pistol gangs that operate in the Western province mainly in Colombo and Dehiwela -Mount Lavia areas.

However the most intriguing question is how the suspect covered his tracks for so long after arriving in Colombo almost three years ago. Police should also get to know his handlers who provided him with a safe house at Wattala.

Meanwhile Defense Ministry sources said they were not aware of any threat to MP T. Maheswaran's life while he was in Colombo. Although the MP was provided with additional security during his visits to Jaffna he had not made a request to beef up his security while in Colombo, sources said.

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