Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has ordered a police investigation into a complaint of senior minister on alleged death threats to him, police officials said Thursday.

Anura Bandaranaike, the minister of National Heritage, told parliament here Thursday that he had received telephone death threats from a section within his own government.

Bandaranaike, who is the brother of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, urged the speaker of parliament to pay attention to the issue, claiming he had no faith in the police investigation.

Bandaranaike said he was thankful to the president for ordering the inquiry and added that the caller had warned that both himself and Mangala Samaraweera, another senior minister, would be killed.

Rajapakse, in his cabinet reshuffle last week, demoted Bandaranaike to current position from that of tourism minister which he had held since 2004.

Source: Xinhua