Navy to undertake reconstruction of Kochchikade St. Anthony's church
April 30, 2019The reconstruction of the St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade which was damaged in the Easter Sunday bombing will be carried out by the Sri Lanka Navy. Navy will obtain the services of the same architect who assisted to build the Katchchtivu church for the reconstruction project, said so the Navy Spokesman Lieutenant Commander Isuru Sooriyabandara at a media briefing held at the Media Centre in Kollupitiya on Monday evening. The church will look better than before once the reconstruction work is completed, he further said.
The Navy and the Air Force are also conducting search operations in many parts of the country. During search operations carried out by the Navy during the last 24 hours, eleven suspects had been arrested. A car, two motorbikes and a three wheeler were also taken into custody. The suspects and the vehicles have been handed over to the Police for further investigations. During search operations in Jaffna, Navy troops were able to apprehend four suspect along with some publications related to extremist groups while another three were arrested in Colombo with similar literature. One suspect arrested in Colombo was found with 10 fake identity cards. The Navy has taken extra precautions to provide security to important installations including the Norachcholai power plant, the Navy spokesman further said.
Speaking at the briefing, Air Force Spokesman, Group Captain Gihan Seneviratne said that during the past 24 hours search operations have been carried out in several parts of the country including Ekala , Raddolugama and Welimada. One suspect was arrested in Ekala with five mobile phones, a rifle, a sword, two daggers, two shotgun ammunition, ten ammunition cases, three spent ammunition rounds. The suspect has been handed over to the Police. Another four persons including a woman were arrested in Ekala for having in their possession mobile phones containing videos of extremist groups and Easter Sunday bombings in the country. Another suspect was arrested in Raddolugama with six swords, one rifle and rifle rounds. All suspects have been handed over to the Police. The Air Force Spokesman also said that security of the two international air ports in Katunayake and Mattala have been strengthened.