Five suspects were arrested by the Wadduwa police in connection with the clash which took place in the Delduwa area in Wadduwa where one was killed and nine others were injured due to a hand grenade explosion, police media spokesman Ajith Rohana said.

“The suspects, including several passengers were taken into custody over the clash which took place following the explosion as the people had thought that the hand grenade was thrown by the passengers of the bus and a clash had taken place between the two groups,” he said.

The police are carrying on investigations in order to arrest the runaway suspect who accompanied the youth, Suranga Priyadarshana (29) of Moronthuduwa who was killed when he allegedly tried to remove the safety pin of the hand grenade during a confrontation with a group consisting of 25 people who were stranded as the bus they were returning from, from Matara after attending a funeral broke down.

The passengers of the bus were heading to Kahatuduwa in Piliyandala after attending a funeral in Matara broke down when a tyre burst in Wadduwa. While they were attending to the repairs, two young men riding a motorcycle had appeared on the scene and questioned what the matter was.

During the course of the argument one of the two young men had run to his house which was nearby and returned with a hand grenade which caused the explosion. But the police are carrying out investigations as to how the two men came to obtain a hand grenade. The police also said that during investigations it was revealed that the two men were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. (Supun Dias)