A 30-year-old has been killed following the discharge of the firearm of a police officer during a drug raid in Neluwa.
During the raid carried out by a group of Neluwa police officers, a suspect who had tried to grab the firearm of a police officer had been shot when the weapon had fired, police said.
The raid was carried out by a team of police officers this evening (18) on a tip-off received by the police that a drug racket was being carried out in an abandoned house in the Neluwa town area.
Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa stated that the suspect who was present at the time had tried to snatch the pistol of a police officer. He said that the suspect had been shot when the firearm had discharged then.
The deceased has been identified as a 30-year-old resident of Morawaka.
Three other suspects who were at the scene have fled and Neluwa Police are conducting investigations to arrest them.
The Police Spokesman further stated that a Superintendent of Police in the Galle Division has been appointed on the instructions of the Senior DIG in charge of the Southern Province to investigate the shooting incident.
