Two remanded for election day fatal shooting at checkpoint

A Sri Lankan court remanded two security forces personnel over the deaths of two motorcycle riders at a checkpoint in the southern town of Ahangama on Thursday (March 17).

The courts remanded a soldier and a police constable till March 31 over the killing of two youth on a motorcycle at the checkpoint.

Security forces opened fire at the two men when they allegedly disobeyed the orders to stop at the checkpoint in Ahangama. One of the men, reportedly an Army deserter, died on the spot while the other succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

Residents of the southern town angered by the shooting set fire to a police jeep and threw stones at the policemen manning the checkpoint. Police however, managed to bring the situation under control quickly.