May 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka security forces arrested a local UNDP worker at a road block in Vavuniya yesterday afternoon for carrying a micro pistol with him, the Defence Ministry said.

The suspect, Thiagaraja Prabhakaran, a resident of Batticaloa attached to the UNDP office at Kilinochchi was on his way to Batticaloa from Kilinochchi when troops detained him at the Irattaperiyakulam road block.

Under interrogation, the suspect had confessed to carrying the small weapon for someone else in the eastern district of Batticaloa, in return for cash. However the authorities are skeptical of his claim saying that LTTE would have simply ordered him to carry the weapon.

Media reports quoting UN said the suspect was traveling in a private vehicle outside his working hours and UN is fully co-operating with the authorities in the investigation.