Probe on Sri Lankan journalists in suspicion of ploy to kill the President

(September 08, 2009 - Lanka Polity)  Sri Lanka state has begun an investigation on a newspaper company in relation to a ploy to assassinate the President or any other VIP including his brothers following three journalists of the newspaper were arrested near a mansion being constructed by the brother-in-law of the President Mahinda Rajapakse, reliable sources say.

The mansion is constructed in a picturesque area in Deniyaya in the Southern Province and three journalists have been in investigative reporting on if the public property is being misused in the construction, newspaper sources say. Police arrested the three journalists and brought them to Colombo for further investigation detaining them under emergency regulations.

The newspaper named 'Lanka' has close links with the Marxist nationalist People's Liberation Front (JVP) and the party that is supporting to the government to crush the Tamil nationalist rebellion has vowed to reconsider the support to pass the emergency regulations following this arrest.

Criminal Investigation Department questioned the editor of the newspaper Chandana Sirimalwaththa on Sunday and they visited the office of the newspaper to interrogate the entire editorial on Monday.