Tamil lawmaker’s killer detained, injured in retaliatory firing

The New Year dawned on the island nation on an inauspicious note with a United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian, T. Maheswaran, being killed in broad daylight by an unidentified gunman inside a temple at 10 a.m. on the outskirts of Colombo.
Mr. Maheswaran was shot at close range as he was coming out of the temple after offering prayers. A security officer of the MP was also killed and 12 others were injured in the incident.
The police claimed to have arrested the assailant, who was wounded in retaliatory firing by the personal security officer of the MP. The police identified the suspect as a resident of Gurunagar in Jaffna and said he is under close custody of police and receiving treatment at the National hospital in Colombo. However, the name of the detained man was not released.
Mr. Maheswaran, a former Minister and Colombo district UNP parliamentarian, was a vocal critic of the alleged human rights violations by the military and para-military groups. The UNP had accused the government of exposing Mr. Maheswaran to danger by scaling down his security despite innumerable requests.
A report posted on the Defence Ministry web site, however, sought to refute the charges. “Meanwhile, expressing views to defence.lk, a political analyst said the immediate arrest of the gunman has dismantled attempts of opposition party and pro-LTTE agents to cast doubts on the killing of Mr. Maheswaran.”
Expressing shock over the killing, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told a gathering of employees of the President’s office that despite “political differences” the two of them (Mr. Maheswaran and the President) remained friends.