A foreign-made hand grenade has been found in the Delgaha Ara canal, which runs behind the residence of Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Dr. Kavinda Jayawardhana in Weligampitiya, Ja-Ela.
Workers from the Ja-Ela Urban Council found the device at about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday while cleaning the canal, Ada Derana reported.
The workers alerted Kandana Police, whose officers went to the scene and began investigating. After preliminary inquiries, the Police Special Task Force Bomb Disposal Squad removed the grenade for safe disposal.
Kandana Police are conducting further investigations.
What is not yet established
The discovery is the whole of the reported story, and its significance turns on facts no outlet has yet supplied.
Police have not said how long the grenade had been in the canal, whether it was live or inert, what type it is beyond being foreign-made, or whether there is any indication it was placed there rather than discarded or washed downstream. Nor has any outlet reported whether the MP or his household has received threats, whether he was at the residence, or whether security around him has been reviewed.
The proximity to a sitting member of parliament’s home is what makes the find newsworthy, but no investigator has publicly drawn a connection between the two. A canal running behind a residence is also a common disposal route for weapons in built-up areas, and police have not ruled either explanation in or out.
Jayawardhana has not commented publicly on the discovery in any report available at the time of writing. No arrests have been made.
Context
Ada Derana was the only verified newsroom carrying the story at the time of writing; it did not appear in the Hiru News, NewsFirst or Daily Mirror listings.
Jayawardhana, a medical doctor, sits for the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya, which has been in open confrontation with the government over the 22nd Amendment and whose leader Sajith Premadasa addressed a parliamentary caucus on Tuesday. Nothing in the reporting links the grenade to any political dispute.
This report will be updated as police say more.
