Around 3,300 acres of long-neglected land in Kantale were officially handed over to 1,152 farming families today.

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra, these distributed lands were once part of the old sugar factory in the area. 

Deputy Minister Hemachandra further said that the lands have been distributed for the cultivation of maize.

“I was honoured to be part of an important moment in Kantale today. These lands, once part of the old sugar factory, are now set to come alive again, this time with maize fields that will help feed our country and strengthen our economy,” he said, in a statement on social media. (Newswire) 

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Five Police officers of the Bharathipuram Police Station in Kantale have been sentenced to life imprisonment with rigorous labour over the deaths of eight area residents by an armed group, nearly 26 years after the incident.

According to the national newspaper Lankadeepa, the five officers had arrested the victims and brought them to the Police Station accusing the victims of having attacked their Police post.

During the detention, an armed group is reported to have killed the victims at the Police Station in the presence of the Police officers in 1998. 

Anuradhapura High Court Judge Manoj Thalgodapitiya on Friday, sentenced to life imprisonment with rigorous labour the five Police Officers, including the OIC of the Bharathipuram Police Station.

The five police officers were charged with unlawful assembly with the intention to commit murder.

However, the court ordered that only two accused police officers be acquitted and released from the case. (Newswire)

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