Fonseka's office raided by Lankan task force

Over 100 personnel from Sri Lanka's elite Special Task Force on Friday raided the office of former army chief and defeated opposition presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka in Colombo.

"I don't know what they are looking for. They have also questioned the staff," said a close aide of Fonseka, who was trounced by incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January 26 presidential polls.

The aide, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that more than 100 personnel from the STF stormed Fonseka's office. The Daily Mirror Online reported that Fonseka's office had been surrounded by 'masked' STF officers and the media was denied access to the premises.

When contacted, police spokesman S M Karunaratne said that he had no information about the raid. The raid came a day after the Sri Lankan government alleged that Fonseka had attempted to 'assassinate' President Rajapaksa and his family.

The defence ministry claimed there was 'ample evidence' to prove that the former army chief hatched the conspiracy from two hotels in Colombo.

It claimed that nine army deserters, who were arrested from outside a hotel in Colombo on Thursday, were part of the plot. Fonseka rejected the allegations, terming these as 'trumped up charges' to arrest him.