Police carried out a large-scale excavation on April 13 in the Manmunai area of the Kattankudy Police Division in Batticaloa, following intelligence that LTTE militants had allegedly buried weapons at a site near a residence.
The operation was ordered by the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court. Under tight security, officers dug to a depth of approximately 20 feet over a seven-hour period from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Despite the extensive operation, no weapons or military equipment were recovered. The pit was subsequently refilled and sealed.
Distinct from OMP excavations
The arms cache investigation is separate from the Office on Missing Persons excavation conducted at a different Batticaloa site in late March, which searched for war-era human remains under the OMP Act.
While that excavation was part of post-war reconciliation efforts, the latest operation was a criminal investigation based on specific intelligence about concealed weaponry — a reminder that security agencies continue to act on tips about wartime arms caches nearly two decades after the civil war ended in 2009.
The negative result is consistent with several previous excavations across the Eastern Province that have yielded no weapons, though authorities maintain that acting on credible intelligence remains a security priority.
