A prominent Sri Lankan Tamil high court judge on Saturday escaped an assassination bid in Jaffna after an unidentified man snatched the revolver of his personal protection officer and opened fire, police said.
Justice Manickavasagar Illancheliyan is widely known as a fearless judge and had presided in many high profile cases, including the rape and murder case of Sivaloganathan Vithya, a young student in May 2015.The incident had caused much public outrage.
Mr. Illancheliyan’s car was caught in a traffic block in Jaffna’s Nallur junction when the shooting took place.
He was unhurt while the policeman suffered injuries. A man snatched the revolver from a policeman and opened fire.
A deputy inspector general of police was arrested and remanded last week by the judge.
