The mastermind behind Digana explosion

by Keerthi Mendis and Prasanna Fonseka

The long arms of the watchtower had just passed the 4 o'clock mark. Except for a few passengers who wanted to travel to Colombo to attend to their business, the entire town of Digana was fast asleep. Some passengers who had accompanied their relations to the Colombo bound bus were returning home.

The Defender that came from Alutwatte Digana had entered the Mahiyanganaya main road at 4.15 am. Though the person who travelled in the Defender had been communicating on his mobile phone, no one had seen it in the pitch darkness.

The Defender belonged to the Special Task Force and the person who travelled in it was SSP Upul Seneviratne. He was the Director of the STF Training College in Katukurunda. Every weekend he used to visit his home and on Monday morning he travelled back to Kalutara. Since this officer was a popular figure in the area, his routine had not been a secret to the neighbours.

The Defender which entered on to the Mahiyanganaya-Kandy road turned in the direction of Colombo. The Defender did not go a further 500 meters along the road and it leaned left as it took a turn near the Digana Tamil College. At that moment, a loud explosion shattered the area. It was definitely a powerful bomb.

The powerful Claymore mine hidden in a bush less than five meters from the Defender had killed the two persons in the vehicle. The Defender came to an abrupt halt and the iron balls that ripped through the Defender had entered the Tamil College.

Upul Seneviratne's wife who closed the door after her husband had left home, had heard the explosion. She tried to call her husband on the mobile phone but there was no response. Realising that something had gone wrong, she got onto the vehicle parked at home and reached the scene.

SSP Upul Seneviratne who wore seatbelts, was unconscious while his driver lay on the seat with serious wounds. Doctors frantic efforts to save his life, however, failed. The driver also succumbed to his injuries. SSP Upul Seneviratne died owing to the damage caused to internal organs by iron balls and shrapnel resulting in internal haemorrhage.

Following the explosion, the STF launched a search operation in the area and recovered another claymore mine and a remote control suspected to have been used for the explosion and 10 hand grenades. Preliminary investigations revealed that the 5 kilo weight deadly claymore mine had been planted the previous night.The spot where the bomb was planted had been strategically selected. The vehicle had to slow down its speed owing to the bend near the school. The vehicle had to come through the by-road at a low level and turn to the main road at a higher elevation. Therefore, gears had to be changed and maintained at a lower speed. The Tigers would have thought this particular bend as the most fitting area for the blast.

The Digana Mahaweli village was right behind the Manna bushes. The parapet wall around the area was also covered with overgrown wild creepers. In this backdrop, the attention would have been drawn to the Manna bushes except from the main road. The Mahiyangana road is almost forsaken at night. Although a few vehicles use the road, attention is paid only to the main road. Hence bombers could have found it easier to achieve their goal. It was thought that while the mastermind waited with the remote control at the school playground,the informant would have tipped off the exact time SSP Seneviratne left home. The second informant is believed to have communicated that the vehicle had entered the main road. Accordingly the bomber had triggered the explosion at the bend. It was also thought that the informants would have left the place on a motorcycle and the mastermind also ran across the school ground and joined them.

The bag containing 10 hand grenades that were later recovered is believed to have been brought for their own safety. It was obvious that the Tiger cadre had a contingency plan to be activated in the event of an obstacle or to prevent possible arrest.

The police team probing the explosion paid attention to many factors in connection with the blast. A special scientific method is being employed in the investigations. However, details cannot be divulged as it would hamper future investigations.

SSP Upul Seneviratne had served as the STF Chief at Ampara for a long period of time before being posted to Katukurunda. He was popular among the civilians in the area as he worked for more than twenty years. He also won the hearts of the Tamils in the area.He had many friends in the media.It was routine for them to receive a call from him almost every morning. He kept himself abreast with current affairs through his friends in the media. Upul Seneviratne was good at cultivating human relationships. He would have been eliminated because of his popularity.