‘Blast suspects did not receive training in Sri Lanka'

Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has denied the claim made by one of the two suspects in the Pune German Bakery blast case that he received his training in the island nation.

A report on the Defence Ministry website quoted Mr. Rajapaksa as saying that extremist groups operating in Pakistan have not received any type of training on Sri Lankan soil.

He said Sri Lanka was free from terrorists and there was no ground for terrorists to receive training in the country.

Two suspects involved in the bakery attack were arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad last Tuesday. Nine people were killed and 45 injured in the blast.

Report sought

The website further said that Sri Lanka has sought a comprehensive report from the Indian authorities over the claims made by the suspect through the Defence Attaché of the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi.

The State-run English paper, Daily News , quoted a high-level official of the Foreign Ministry as saying that the Ministry was in touch with the Indian government and the defence authorities on the latest developments in the investigation.