President Yameen meets Commissioner of Police

President Abdulla Yameen met with the Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed and high-ranking officers at the police headquarters in Malé today following an apparent assassination attempt on his speedboat in September.

A police spokesman said the meeting was routine, while the President’s Office declined to comment.

Yameen has set up a six-member commission comprising of senior military and police officers to investigate the explosion.

Three soldiers have been arrested, while the head of the military’s special protection group, tasked with providing security to the president, was replaced last week.

The head of the police’s intelligence directorate was also replaced this weekend.

Yameen escaped the blast unhurt, but First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim remains hospitalized after suffering bone fractures.

Home Minister Umar Naseer is heading the inquiry commission.

The president’s office called a sudden press conference at 1am on Wednesday to broadcast a video clip of the explosion, but has declined to reveal details.

Speaking to Reuters last week, minister Mohamed Hussain Shareef said investigators from the US, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Sri Lanka have ruled out mechanical failure. “They are now telling me that they have enough evidence to believe that it is likely to have been an attempt on the president’s life.”

Condemning the attack, Vice President Ahmed Adeeb last week declared his unwavering loyalty to the president and dismissed speculation of his involvement in the blast.

Two of his bodyguards have been suspended since the explosion, but Adeeb rejected it as routine.

Correction: October 17, 2015: This article previously said two soldiers and an immigration official were arrested in connection to the boat blast. This is incorrect. All three arrested over the explosion are MNDF officers. An immigration official was never arrested in this case.