Police defused a live bomb found inside the Weerakodithola Reserve in Karuwalagaswewa, Puttalam, on Thursday, after a man collecting firewood discovered the device and reported it to officers, NewsFirst reported.
Investigators referred the find to the Puttalam Magistrate’s Court, which issued an order authorising the disposal operation. The Special Task Force (STF) carried out the safe destruction of the device at the scene, NewsFirst said.
Police did not disclose the type or age of the bomb, the area of the reserve where it was found, or whether it was linked to any earlier military or insurgent activity in the district. North-central districts adjacent to the former conflict zone occasionally yield unexploded ordnance during land clearing or firewood collection, with the STF’s Bomb Disposal Unit routinely deployed to render such finds safe under magisterial supervision.
The Weerakodithola Reserve sits within the dry-zone forest belt of north-western Sri Lanka, with surrounding villages relying on the reserve for firewood and seasonal foraging. Authorities periodically issue advisories to villagers entering protected forest areas to report unfamiliar metal objects to the nearest police station rather than disturb them.
