Petty Officer Bandara commended by Navy
 The brave act and vigilance of Petty Officer NWSI
Bandara of the Sri Lanka Navy, had averted a large-scale carnage and
mayhem at the Sunday fair in Anuradhapura yesterday (10th February
2008). PO Bandara was commended by the Commander of the Navy for his
brave act.
Petty Officer Bandara had made use of the expertise
knowledge imparted to him by the Sri Lanka Navy during his qualifying
courses leading to his present rank to perform his brave act. Armed with
the expertise knowledge and the discipline and self-confidence instilled
in him by the Navy instructors, he had carried out the delicate
operation of defusing the deadly time bomb with meticulous attention to
detail and patient adherence to procedure.
Spotting a time bomb planted by the terrorists at the
Sunday fair, Petty Officer Bandara had swiftly cut off the two detonator
cords fitted to the bomb seizing a pair of scissors lying near by. The
improvised bomb, made with 1.5 kilograms of lethal C 4 explosives and
350 steel balls, was packed in to a plastic can and was wrapped in a
shopping bag. It had been placed in between a fruit stall and a bags
stall located inside the fair. The bomb was to explode within 05 minutes
before its deactivation by the sailor.
The incident happened around 11.30 a.m. yesterday and
approximately 4000 people had gathered at the fair to do their Sunday
shopping. Petty Officer Bandra, who is attached to the Kondachchikudah
Naval Sub Unit in Silawathura, had been at the fair with his wife
shopping while on leave.
After locating the bomb, Petty Officer Bandara had
alerted the fellow shoppers immediately and had taken precautionary
measures to evacuate the people from the scene to ensure their safety.
He had assisted the Police to carry out a search and clear operation to
detect other possible explosive devices in the vicinity.
Amidst all this commotion, PO Bandara had not
forgotten his domestic commitments. Immediately after defusing the bomb
and informing the relevant authorities of the incident, he had rushed
home to his 9-year-old son who was eagerly awaiting to be taken to the
village temple. His son was to receive a special award at the Dhamma
Schooll Awards ceremony held that day. PO Bandara had been on the
Organizing Committee and had to be there to attend to the activities
connected with the ceremony.
The sacred capital, Anuradhapura, must be feeling
proud to have a true son of her own soil coming to the rescue of her
from witnessing a large-scale human tragedy.
Petty Officer Bandara is a resident of Maha Nelubewa,
Hindogama, Anuradhapura and is a father of two sons, aged 9 and 1 and
1/2 months respectively.
Courtesy: Navy.lk |
