Sri Lanka president tightens security after ‘assassination plot’

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president has heightened his security following reports of an assassination plot involving an alleged Indian intelligence operative, his advisor said Thursday. Maithripala Sirisena took the undisclosed security measures after a police informant claimed that a senior officer discussed with him plans to kill the president, advisor Shiral Lakthilaka said. “The president has taken the threat very seriously,” Lakthilaka told reporters in Colombo. “The president’s security has been increased.” Police in Sri Lanka said they were still investigating the alleged plot and had detained an Indian national. Sirisena had “told the cabinet of local media reports of an Indian intelligence agency being involved,” Lakthilaka said.