Chilli powder thrown at police in Jaffna

Four unidentified men had thrown red chilli powder in the eyes of the policemen and fled when they tried to check them near a checkpoint at Kate junction in Point Pedro yesterday, police said.

Two policemen have been admitted to the Point-Pedro hospital.

On receiving information that a group of men were hiding near the checkpoint, the policemen had gone to the area and conducted a search. Suddenly, the men, who are believed to be Kerala-ganja transporters, had thrown chilli powder in their eyes and fled the scene.

A special search operation was launched to apprehend the suspects. (Srinath Prasanna Jayasuriya)