Maldives confirms the arrest of Sri Lankan for assassination attempt on President

Maldives police today confirmed that a Sri Lankan national was arrested last month on a charge of attempting to assassinate the president of the Maldives, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Maldives Police said in a statement that the 27-year-old Sri Lankan man was hired to kill the President using a firearm. Media reports earlier said the Maldives Police have arrested a Sri Lankan sniper on October 24 in Maldives days after a sniper rifle bullet was found in the biggest weapons bust in the country's recent history but the authorities neither denied nor confirmed the arrest.

"A Sri Lankan national, 27 years, is being held in police custody... he was arrested on October 24, 2015, on suspicion of attempting to kill the President of the Maldives using a weapon," Minivan News quoted the police statement. The criminal court has remanded the man for a period of 15 days. It was also reported that the arrested man served in the Sri Lankan military but the Sri Lankan military has denied the report saying that according to information uncovered so far the suspect has not been attached to the Sri Lankan military. The Sri Lankan national's arrest is the latest development here since the blast on the President Yameen's boat on September 28. The blast injured the First Lady and two others while the President Yameen escaped the blast unhurt. Sri Lanka on November 1 arrested an individual, who according to Maldivian authorities is one of the eight suspects wanted in connection to the explosion and extradited him to Malé. The Maldivian security forces earlier this month seized a large cache of weapons from a reef. Some of the weapons included firearms missing from the state armory, they said. The weapons had been seized from Hibilhadhoo Island in Baa Atoll being developed as a resort. Following the discovery of the weapons and explosive devices at two locations, Maldivian President Wednesday declared a State of Emergency in all areas of the Maldives for 30 days.