A suspected poacher was injured and arrested following a shootout between wildlife officers and a group of hunters in Yala National Park on Tuesday. Two other suspects escaped the scene.
A confrontation between wildlife officers and suspected poachers resulted in gunfire within Yala National Park on Tuesday, leaving one person injured and another in custody. Officers from the Yala National Park headquarters in Thanamalwila were attempting to apprehend three individuals suspected of hunting illegally within the reserve when the shooting erupted.
According to authorities, two of the suspects managed to flee during the exchange, while a 44-year-old resident of the Ellagala Left Bank area in Tissamaharama was arrested at the scene. Officers recovered two locally manufactured firearms and approximately 41 kilograms of venison from the arrested suspect. The injured individual was admitted to Debarawewa Base Hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds to his right back and shoulder area, with medical staff indicating his condition was not serious.
However, conflicting accounts emerged regarding the circumstances of the shooting. According to Ada Derana, the arrested suspect alleged that wildlife officers had positioned themselves in ambush within the park near the upper catchment area of the Lunugamvehera Reservoir before opening fire. In contrast, other reports indicated that the hunters opened fire first when officers attempted arrest, with officers returning fire in self-defence. The suspect was described by police as a 44-year-old cattle herder from the Tissamaharama area.
The arrested individual was produced before the Tissamaharama Magistrate's Court, which ordered his remand until August 21. Lunugamvehera Police have launched a joint operation with wildlife officers to locate and apprehend the two remaining suspects who fled the scene.
