Police open fire at jeep with excise officers : One injured

One person was hospitalised when the police opened fire at a jeep in which a group of excise officers were travelling in at Araiviyal Nagar in Kilinochchi this morning.

The police said that a group of police officers were deployed following a tip-off received by the Kilinochchi Division Anti Crimes Unit officers stating that a large stock of Cannabis was being transported in a jeep at Araiviyal Nagar area.

The police reportedly signalled a suspicious jeep to stop that was travelling in the area at around 6.20 a.m today.

The police opened fire at the jeep after the driver of the jeep had reportedly disobeyed the police order and attempted to speed away, according to the police.

Later it was found that a group of officers of the Kebithigollewa Excise Unit were travelling in the jeep.

Investigations revealed that an informant of the excise department was injured in the shooting. He was rushed to the Kilinochchi Hospital, police said.

Meanwhile, Excise Department Spokesman, Deputy Excise Commissioner Kapila Kumarsinghe said they were aware about such an incident.

He said they would look into the matter to determine whether the incident occurred during an excise raid or not and would take action against the officers if they were involved in any illicit activity. (Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)