Tense situ at Karadiyanaru, 1 dead, 6 STF members hospitalised

Six Special Task Force (STF) officers were hospitalized and a 17 year old youth  drowned when a tense situation erupted during a raid conducted in Karadiyanaru, Batticaloa last evening.

Police said the STF personnel from the Maha Oya camp had raided an illegal sand mining operation at the Mundeniyaru lagoon following a tip off

The STF personnel were attacked by angry villagers during the raid.

The 17 year old youth along with his brother had jumped into the lagoon when officers fired warning shots into the sky. Police said the youth had drowned while his brother was admitted to the Chenkaladi Hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Police and another team of STF officers rescued a STF officer who was being held captive by the villagers.  

Police spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the six officer were admitted to the Batticaloa Hospital for treatment and that a police team and STF team had been deployed to control the situation in the area.

The postmortem of the deceased is to be held today and the Karadiyanaru Police are investigating the incident.(Darshana Sanjeewa)