A ransom ranging between Rs 3 to 5 lakhs had been paid to an ‘armed group’, in the east to secure the release of five persons it kidnapped from the villages of Polonnaruwa recently.

"An advance payment of Rs 50,000 was made even before negotiations for the release got underway.We believe the abductors are linked to either the LTTE or Karuna’s breakaway group", sources in the east said.

They said that the villages under threat of the armed group are Pangurana, Palliyagodalla, Akbapura, Ismailpura and Sungapura.

Most of these villages were attacked by the LTTE about a decade ago.They were re-established in 2002, after the ceasefire agreement between the government and LTTE came into force.

On representations made by the villagers, SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem visited Polonnaruwa last week on a fact finding mission.

The villagers told him and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Batticaloa branch member Jonas Ericksson, at a meeting that they were living in fear of constant threats and violence.

They requested army protection instead of the present police post and an SLMM office in Polonnaruwa.