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Former Sri Lankan Deputy Defense Minister Arrested VOA News 21 Feb 2002 13:08 UTC 
Sri Lankan police have arrested a former deputy defense minister on charges of conspiring to murder opposition political party workers killed during parliamentary elections in December.
Anuruddha Ratwatte, who was arrested at his home in the capital, Colombo, early Wednesday, is to appear in a court in the central town of Kandy to face charges.
He has denied involvement in the murder of 10 workers of the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress party, who were killed while accompanying ballot boxes to a counting center after polls closed on December 5.
Arrest warrants have also been issued for two of Mr. Ratwatte's sons.
Four soldiers - members of Mr. Ratwatte's body guard team - surrendered to authorities within days of the killings.
The killings sparked riots between Muslims and Sinhalese Buddhists in the region. Fighting between the two communities is rare, but tensions have been rising since last year's communal riots in another part of central Sri Lanka.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
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