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Devananda aide killed

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Mahakanapathy Pillai, media manager of Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda was shot dead here on Monday. The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Mr. Devananda blamed the LTTE for the murder and said the Minister had been a target of the LTTE ever since he joined parliamentary politics. Mr. Devananda is the only "Tamil face" in Mahinda Rajapakse's Cabinet and has escaped several attempts on his life allegedly carried out by the Tamil Tigers. Mr. Pillai was shot dead while he was returning from a temple. The EPDP said Mr. Pillai was a tower of strength for the Minister for nearly a decade and his roots in Batticaloa were always very useful to him. The military said an Army sergeant died in an LTTE claymore attack in Vavuniya.

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