Mrs. Renuka Shanmuganathan wife of Union Bank Managing Director S. Shanmuganathan is now being questioned by the CID in connection with the Town Hall bomb blast, an alleged plot to assassinate President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, CID sources said.

     According to CID sources, vital information has been unearthed regarding the plot to assassinate the President, a conspiracy between the Southern and the LTTE, Daily News revealed. A group of top rung businessmen sympathetic towards the UNP have been directly involved in this conspiracy and have funded both the UNP and the LTTE. Other leading personalities connected to this alleged plot also would be questioned within the next few days, CID sources said.

     CID sources have revealed about the taped telephone conversations linked to the conspiracy. A gathering had also taken place at a Ward Place residence on the night of December 18 to celebrate the Town Hall bomb blast, Daily News stated. Also the group's friends had also been informed to listen to the 9.30 p.m. news bulletin of a particular private TV station for further information regarding the bomb blast. The CID is also trying to ascertain whether editors of two weekend private media newspapers funded by the above group of businessmen are connected to this alleged conspiracy, Daily News said. Several army personnel also had been involved in this plot with plans to capture power through a military coup if the President was killed from the bomb blast. It has been revealed that some plotters had even telephoned Nawaloka Hospital to inquire whether the President had succumbed to her injuries.

     Further the Daily Mirror said that the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) news bulletin said last evening that CID was looking for any connections between these businessmen and two editors of private media institutions. However, the names of the editors were not revealed.

     The Island stated that the SLBC also referred to an "unseen hand" in the country's south that had tied up with the LTTE.

     Further according to the Daily News, a certain group of millionaire businessmen enraged with the government for failing to obtain government tenders and gain other financial benefits have been behind this and are now accusing the government with false allegations and scheming to assassinate the President.

     CID investigations are continuing and more startling revelations are expected regarding the alleged conspiracy.

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