Sailor, soldier foil bid to blast A’pura pola
Bomb defused in the nick of time

by Percy Kuruneru Our Anuradhapura Special Corr

N. S. W. I. Bandara, attached to a newly established detachment south of Mannar, after spotting an unattended bag at the weekly pola located a short distance away from the main bus stand, cautiously opened it. When Bandara and Sgt. Ravindra Prabath found an explosive device fitted with a timer inside, they immediately defused it, thereby preventing a catastrophe.

There were about 2,000 traders, and at the time the detection was made there had been several thousand people there, police said.

The deadly device concealed in a plastic can had contained one kg and 345 gms of C4 plastic explosives and steel balls. According to police, the bomb disposal squad wouldn’t have been able to reach the scene in time to prevent a blast, even if they had called the Anuradhapura police.

They had defused the bomb just seconds before it went off, but at that time they hadn’t been aware of the danger, police said.

Yesterday’s attempt was the second recent bid to target civilians in Anuradhapura. The on-going investigations into the February 2 bus bomb blast at Dambulla which killed 20 civilians have revealed that the explosion had been premature. Investigators said that the LTTE had planned to use it against people attending a government sponsored religious ceremony at Ruwanweliseya.

An LTTE plan to cause civilian deaths in Anuradhapura went awry due to the vigilance of an off duty sailor and an army Sgt, last morning.