Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reinstated the security checkpoints and searches in the wake of the twin bomb explosions today that killed a senior Minister, sources close to the President’s office said.

Jan 08, Colombo: An explosion took place around 8 PM this evening inside a building near the Lake House roundabout, Colombo Fort.

According to police sources, a bomb was detonated inside the building located in front of the Regal Cinema. No casualties have been reported. The bomb seemed to have been placed inside a phone booth on the ground floor of the building, sources added.

This is the second bomb explosion in the island’s south since Chief Justice Sarath Nandana Silva warned the Defence Ministry not to check civilian premises during night hours without substantial evidence.

Three bombs have been detonated in Colombo and suburbs so far since the Supreme Court earlier ordered law enforcement authorities to remove all permanent roadblocks in the country.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb in Ja-Ela this morning killed Nation Building Minister D.M. Dissanayake.