The Guards Are With Ranatunga, But Not Police: Lankan Minister Held After Sunday Shooting By His Security Team

On Monday (29 October), police arrested Sri Lankan Petroleum Minister and former cricketer, Arjuna Ranatunga, following an incident that happened on the previous day in which his bodyguards, in order to rescue him, opened fire on a group of protesters loyal to President Maithripala Sirisena, Yahoo News has reported.

Arjuna Ranatunga, captain of the 1996 cricket world cup winning team, is considered close to ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremsinghe.

Officials said that the trade unions of the country had accused Ranatunga of ordering the firing, after which the minister was taken in by the police.

The country is going through a phase of constitutional crisis after President Sirisena sacked Wickremsinghe and appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.

As per the report, spokesperson of the police department, Ruwan Gunashekhara, said the arrest was made after the petroleum unions of Sri Lanka had complained that it was the minister who ordered the shooting.

On Monday, petroleum unions had gone on strike to protest the shooting, resulting in long queues for fuel at filling stations.

As per an AFP report, the Minister’s office said that hundreds of people gathered at the ministry when he appeared on Sunday (28 October) and started beating his staff and tried to take him hostage.

"When they tried to break open his office door and capture him, the Special Task Force commandos came to rescue him," spokesman Thameera Manju told AFP.

A policeman, who was one of the bodyguards of Ranatunga, opened fire, striking three people, one of whom - a 34-year-old man - later died at the hospital.

The bodyguard was arrested the same day and is still being held by the authorities.