Attack on Maxi; true motives unclear
Maxwell de Silva's fingers were severely injured by the attack
The General Secretary of National Olympic Committee (NOC), Maxwell de Silva is currently being treated at the General Hospital Colombo, after being attacked by two unidentified men, who romped into his residence in Mutwal on Friday night.
The two unidentified men, who had walked into de Silva’s residence had covered themselves, and had attacked him with a sharp object, causing injuries to one of his hands. The attackers had made a statement in Sinhalese saying that they were subjected to injustice by de Silva.
“The assailants confronted the sleeping Maxwell de Silva and attacked him alleging that they had been the victims of injustice. It is believed that this is a result of the Commonwealth Games selections and a party who is affected by it. It is also thought that this is an extension of the rivalry between de Silva supporters and the faction that faced defeat at the last contest for the executive committee positions of the NOCSL,” an official statement issued by NOC on Saturday, stated.
The attack took place during the wee hours on Friday, where de Silva sustained injuries to four fingers while trying to ward off the attackers, who were branching knives. They then made their getaway by hi-jacking the house owner’s private car, which was later dumped near an entry to one of the highways.
“The two attackers had gained access to the de Silva residence when the lady of the house opened the front door of the house as a result of a rumpus made by the two dogs who had heard noises in their front yard,” the statement added.
De Silva’s severely injured fingers had required surgery, and the incident had been reported to the police. The motive of the attack is yet unknown, but according to his close aides, the attackers had told that de Silva ‘did not support them’.
Sources close to de Silva said that he was anyway up at the time when the attackers entered the house, as he was getting ready to attend a wedding ceremony outstation. According to the source de Silva was supposed to leave home around 5.00am, and the attackers had entered the residence around 4.00am. But reports do not clearly indicate the actual time the incident took place.
It is reported that the attack has some connection with the upcoming Commonwealth Games selections or at least some part of it, and it is believed that the attackers are from an opposing faction of de Silva’s. De Silva was reelected as the General Secretary of the NOC under Suresh Subramaniam for a second tenure earlier this year.