Officers fire 38 warning shots to force back mob from police station

Two police officers were forced to fire 38 warning shots into the air last night in an effort to stop a large mob forcing its way inside the Hanguranketha Police Station. 

Police Media Unit said the incident was related to the death of an individual who died on June 25 at the Kandy General Hospital from injuries sustained in an assault at Diyathilakapura, Hanguranketha. The Hanguranketha Police, which had commenced an investigation into the murder, had arrested one female suspect over the incident. She had been remanded in custody after being produced in court. 

Eight other suspects wanted in connection with the crime have fled the area and investigations are ongoing to arrest them. While the investigation was ongoing, some 200 people comprised of men and women had assembled in front of the Hanguranketha Police last night protesting over the fact that the other alleged perpetrators of the crime had not been arrested so far. 

Police officers had briefed them on the investigation and attempted to explain the situation to them. However, the unruly mob had rejected these explanations and attempted to force their way into the station by breaking down its main gate, according to the Police Media Unit. Police claim a majority in the mob seemed to be under the influence of liquor and stones were also pelted at the police station. 

Given there was a real danger that the mob forcing its way into the station could damage state property, threaten the safety of court products housed at the station, the firearms inside the armoury and the very lives of officers at the station, on the orders of the station's Officer-in-Charge (OIC), two officers had fired their weapons into the air to disperse the mob. The officers had fired a total of 38 shots into the air in the incident, police said. Thereafter, the mob had stopped their attempts to enter the police station and instead held a protest on the Kandy Main Road for nearly an hour. 

No injuries were reported during the incident while the main gate of the station had sustained damage after being toppled by the crowd. Hanguranketha Police are conducting investigations to identify and take legal action against those who were part of the unruly mob, police said.