Arjuna Ranatunga released on bail by Colombo court in shooting incident

Colombo, Oct 29: Former Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, who was arrested by police over the CPC (Ceylon Petroleum Corporation) shooting incident, released on bail by Colombo court on Monday.

Ranatunga was released on a surety of Rs. 500,000.

The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) arrested the former Sri Lankan cricket captain after he was accused of being involved in the shooting incident in which one person was killed, according to Sri Lanka media.

Petroleum trade unions launched a strike over the death of the CPC employee. The unions had demanded the arrest of Ranatunga over the death of the employee.

The political crises in Sri Lanka took an ugly turn when bodyguards of 54-year-old Ranatunga, a loyalist of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, fired live rounds at the supporters of the new premier Mahinda Rajapaksa, leaving one person dead.

One person succumbed to his injuries and two others were hospitalised in the shooting incident.

(With PTI inputs)