1987 grenade attack in the Sri Lankan Parliament
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The 1987 grenade attack in the Sri Lankan Parliament is an attack that took place on August 18, 1987, when an assailant hurled two grenades into a room where Members of Parliament were meeting. The grenades bounced off the table at which Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayawardene and Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa were sitting, and rolled away. A Member of Parliament and a ministry secretary were killed by the explosions.
1987 grenade attack in the Sri Lankan Parliament | |
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Location | Parliament of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura |
Coordinates | 6.887174°N 79.918646°E / 6.887174; 79.918646 |
Date | August 18, 1987 (1987-08-18) 9:00am (UTC+5.50) |
Attack type | Grenade attack |
Deaths | 2 |
Injured | 16 |
Perpetrators | Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya |
A subsequent police investigation concluded that the grenades had been thrown by a member of the banned Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) organization, which was staging a rebellion in the country at the time. Five members of the JVP were eventually put on trial for the attack, but were acquitted due to lack of evidence. It is believed the attack targeted President Jayawardene for his signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord a few weeks earlier. The initial responsibility for the attack was claimed by an organization named Patriotic People's Movement better known as the DJV.