Attempt on Maldivian President’s life:

Sri Lanka sends CID team to Male

by Manjula Fernando

Sri Lanka has sent a team of four detectives and forensic experts to Male to assist in the suspected assassination bid on Maldivian President Yameen Abdul Gayoom last week.

The experts including officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) left for Male on October 01. They will be joining the local investigation team in Male, Maldivian official sources confirmed.

The Maldives President and the wife were travelling to Male from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), when the explosion occurred. The President escaped unhurt but his wife and an aide suffered minor injuries. According to reports, a bodyguard was more seriously hurt. The couple had been returning from their Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, a minister at the President’s Office, told reporters in Colombo, that a mechanical issue could have been the probable cause. But on Wednesday(30), the Maldivian Foreign Minister, Dhunya Maumoon, who was attending the UN General Assembly in Geneva said, it was likely that the explosion was a targeted attack.

Government sources said the investigators so far have not unearthed anything to rule out the assassination bid theory. In addition to Sri Lanka, the US, India, Australia and Saudi Arabia are assisting in the investigations.