Colombo: Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead an electoral candidate in Eastern Sri Lanka today (Mar 01, 2004) marking the first political killing in the run-up to the April Parliamentary elections.

Two gunmen shot dead Sinnathamby Sunderapillai, who was receiving treatment at the Batticaloa hospital for gunshot injuries he suffered in an attack on Saturday (Feb 28, 2004), police said.

They said there were no armed guards posted to protect the victim and the attackers had got away unchallenged.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing, which came two days after the London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International asked Tamil Tiger rebels not to kill opponents during the vote campaign.

Sunderapillai, a member of the minority Tamil community, became candidate of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) at the April 2 vote despite threats from pro-rebel groups.

The UNP said it was awaiting a police investigation report into the slaying of their candidate in Batticaloa today.

"It is too early to speculate as to who was responsible," UNP spokesman G L Peiris said.

Pro-Tamil Tiger groups had warned minority Tamils not to offer themselves as candidates from the two main majority Sinhalese parties of Wickremesinghe and President Chandrika Kumaratunga.