By IANS,
Chennai : Sri Lankan Tamil refugees took a police officer hostage at a camp near here Monday accusing the authorities of not caring for a sick inmate but freed him after three hours, officials said.
Inspector N. Loganathan was grabbed at the refugee camp at Poonamallee, 35 km from Chennai, leading to intervention by senior police officials.
“We have secured his release,” Police Commissioner Sangram Jangid told IANS. Other officials blamed supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the camp for the drama.
According to official sources, those who detained the police officer were friends of Sivakaran alias Siva of Jaffna who had been suffering from jaundice for about a fortnight. He has since been moved to a hospital.
Sivakaran was arrested in January 2007 after the police found on him three consignments of ball bearings meant for Sri Lanka.