Four Excise investigators granted bail over Bambalapitiya shooting

By T. Farook Thajudeen   

Colombo Chief Magistrate Court yesterday released four excise investigators who were involved in a shooting incident at Bambalapitiya during tracking down two narcotic traffickers, on personal bail of Rupees one million with two sureties, for each of the suspects.   

The Excise investigators were arrested by the Bambalapitiya Police following the shooting that took place near a Petrol shed at Bambalapitiya, when the traffickers had tried to flee from the scene and the investigators had shot at the car.   
 However two traffickers had fled from the scene.

According to investigations, it was revealed that the excise sleuths had carried out an operation to arrest some drug traffickers, on a tip off given to them. The investigators on seeing the traffickers, had ordered to stop the car that the traffickers were travelling in, but they had not heeded to the order and had fled from the scene.  

Later, the car they had travelled in was found to have been abandoned at Rohini Road. Police investigations are not yet concluded and the Police had not received any report on casualties due to the shooting, to date.   

The Magistrate while granting bail to the excise investigators, impounded their passports.   

The matter is further postponed for August 28.