LTTE releases Lankan policeman

As a goodwill gesture, the Tamil Tiger rebels released a Sri Lankan policeman held captive for nearly one year.

As a goodwill gesture, the Tamil Tiger rebels on Saturday released a Sri Lankan policeman held captive for nearly one year, a Nordic truce monitoring mission official said.

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The LTTE has released Sri Lankan police officer, BW Bopetigoda this morning to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials in the LTTE-held Kilinochchi area.

The SLMM, in turn, handed him over to the Sri Lankan Police at Omanthai in the government ontrolled area in Vavuniya, SLMM spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson said.

According to the SLMM spokesman, the decision to release the policeman came after the outgoing SLMM chief, retired Swedish Major General Ulf Hericcson made a request to the LTTE leadership on Friday.

"The LTTE have described it a good will gesture. But we are satisfied that he had been released at last to the satisfaction of everybody concerned," Omarsson said.

Bopetigoda was one of the three police officers, attached to the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), arrested by the LTTE cadres in the rebel-held areas of Mannar in September 2005, when they went on a mission to arrest a British paedophile.

Two other officers had already been released early this year in a prisoners swap.