A Police officer, who was injured after being assaulted by villagers at Kebithigollewa last night, has died at the hospital.
According to the Police, a Buddhist monk and 3 others have been arrested over the death of the Police officer.
A group of Police officers had arrived in the Rambakapuwewa area in Kebithigollewa following reports of a woman being killed in a wild elephant attack.
Upon their arrival, several persons had blocked their entry and had later assaulted the Police officers, which resulted in a tense situation.
The Police officers had been prompted to fire gunshots into the air to disperse the tense situation that arose due to a protest over a human-elephant conflict.
However, a Police Sergeant had sustained critical injuries after one of the individuals attacked him with a club.
The 54-year-old man was rushed to the Kebithigollewa Hospital and was transferred to the Anuradhapura Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Police sergeant was attached to the Kebithigollewa Police and is a resident of the Wariyapola area. (NewsWire)