Colombo, Mar 28: A senior Sri Lankan minister was shot and injured at an election rally in Colombo today. According to a top cabinet minister, a gunman shot at and injured Hindu Religious Affairs Minister Thambirajah Maheshwaran, when he was getting into his car after concluding an election meeting in Tamil-populated area of Jinthupitti, Kotahena in central Colombo. Maheshwaran has been hospitalised. ``The gunman was shot dead by the minister`s security guards,`` the minister said over the phone. No further details were available immediately.
Maheswaran from the war-ravaged Jaffna peninsula is the only Tamil candidate from the ruling United National Party in Colombo.
Bureau Report