Wild Life Officer struck by bullet and dies trying to nab hunter! - Update

Wild Life Officer struck by bullet and dies trying to nab hunter! - Update

A Wild Life Officer of the Hambantota Wild Life office who was engaged in his duties early this morning (5) died after receiving gun-shot injuries when wrestling with a hunter who had been taking a deer killed by poisoning and it has now come to be known that it was because his
own gun had misfired in the process.

Information has been received for a period of time that a wide-scale racket has been going on about racketeers of many areas where the drought prevales these days has motivated these racketeers to create false pools of water and lure animals to the spot after mixing poison with water in the pool and subsequently sell the flesh of the animals to tourists who used to frequent during the Kataragama Tourist Season.

Hewapasgodage Jagath Seneviratna, an Assistant Officer of the Wild Life office of Hambantota died this morning in this manner when he had launched an operation with some others to apprehend a hunter who was taking the body of a deer who had been killed by poisoning. At the moment when the hunter was nabbed, the latter had tried to make an escape when the deceased officer and the suspect had been involved in a struggle resulting in the gun misfiring and injuring him in the process. Later the other officers had immediately taken steps to dispatch him to Hambantota Hospital; but he had passed away. The deceased Jagath Seneviratna aged 43 years is a father of 2 children and is a resident of Walasmulla, Horewela, Angalabada, Pinnawandiya.

The suspect who had been on this hunting spree has been taken into custody by the officers and the weapon in his possession as well as the dead body of the deer too have been taken into their possession. The individual taken into custody happens to be a 33 year old person from Beragama, Ambalantota. The deceased's body is lying at the Hambantota Hospital for the post-mortem and Hambantota Police are conducting investigations on this incident.

Ambalantota -- Ajith Pushpakumara