Gunman held for shooting Tamil MP

The Sri Lankan Police have arrested a gunman who allegedly shot dead Tamil MP T Maheswaran at a Hindu temple on Tuesday.

The Sri Lankan Police have arrested a gunman who allegedly shot dead Tamil MP T Maheswaran at a Hindu temple on Tuesday.

HT Image

The defence ministry quoted the police as saying that the gunman was injured when the MP's guards fired back after coming under attack.

Maheswaran and one of his bodyguards were killed and 12 people were injured when a gunman opened fire at the MP and other worshippers at the Ponnambala Vaneswara temple, near the Colombo port.

The ministry did not name the gunman but said he was from Gurunagar in Jaffna, the Tamil-speaking district in northern Sri Lanka.