The police have successfully arrested five suspects, including the gunman, the motorcycle rider, and the gunman’s wife, in connection with the murder of Mr. Lasantha Wickramasekara, Chairman of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha, by yesterday evening (26).
(Sri Lanka Latest News)
Police Spokesman, Attorney-at-Law Priyantha Weerasooriya, stated that the gunman was captured during a special operation conducted in the Nawinna area of Maharagama.
Police investigations have revealed that the same gunman is connected to about six other shooting incidents. The Police Spokesman further stated that investigations are continuing regarding those incidents.
During questioning, it has been revealed that the murder was committed according to a contract worth Rs. 1.5 million, allegedly assigned by a person named Rajitha, who is residing in Dubai.
Information has also come to light that this Rajitha maintains connections with two individuals known as Midigama Ruwan and Midigama Chuti, both identified as main henchmen of Harak Kata, a notorious underworld leader.
It has been reported that Midigama Ruwan is currently imprisoned in Boossa Prison, while Midigama Chuti was recently taken into custody by the Oman Police.
Interrogations have uncovered that Rajitha, residing in Dubai, had coordinated the entire murder operation, giving the gunman precise instructions and escape routes.
The suspect revealed that he had trained himself to shoot using locally manufactured firearms, and that he had received formal education only up to Grade Five.
The suspect arrested in this connection has been identified as Hakmana Parana Liyanage Nuwan Tharaka, a resident of Kontapane, Bandipita, Angulugama.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had determined, through mobile network analysis, that the gunman had been hiding in the Nivas 50 area under the Kekirawa Police Division. Based on this information, a special operation was launched early yesterday morning (26) with the assistance of the Police Special Task Force (STF), the Sri Lanka Army, and officers of the Anuradhapura Division.
During the operation, the police also arrested three others, including the gunman’s wife. The motorcycle rider was also found at the same location.
At the time of the operation, the gunman resisted arrest and attempted to flee after engaging in a struggle with the police officers.
It has been revealed that the suspect, following instructions received from Rajitha in Dubai, traveled from Kekirawa to Colombo, changing several buses along the way, and arrived in Colombo Fort by noon yesterday (26).
When he arrived in Colombo, he reportedly had a strong craving for “Ice” (methamphetamine) and went from Pettah to Borella and Hasapura in search of the drug.
Officials from the Criminal Investigation Department had been monitoring the suspect through technical surveillance. He had spent a significant portion of time yesterday (26) around Pettah and Fort, and accordingly, the police launched a special operation in those areas to apprehend him.
While the operation was in progress, the suspect boarded a bus from Fort to Kottawa, and from Kottawa to Maharagama. Upon arriving in Maharagama, he went to a mobile phone sales shop to dispose of his old phone and purchase a new one.
As he exited the mobile phone shop, he was observed by a Police Inspector of the State Intelligence Service, who had just completed his official duties. The Inspector, noticing his suspicious behavior, attempted to apprehend him.
When the suspect began to flee, pedestrians, believing he had stolen a phone, also chased him and managed to capture him.
Police officers engaged in the operation then arrived at the scene and took the suspect into custody.
After the shooting of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman, the gunman had fled to Kekirawa, accompanied by his wife and the motorcycle rider. Through technical surveillance, the CID identified their location — an abandoned house and property used as a temporary shelter — and surrounded it. The CID officials first arrested one male and one female suspect, Police Media Spokesman Udaya Kumar Wudlar said. The female suspect was identified as the wife of the gunman.
When the suspects were being arrested, several other individuals who were with them engaged in a scuffle with the police, according to the Police Spokesman. During this incident, one police officer sustained injuries. The gunman escaped during the commotion.
One suspect who allegedly assisted the gunman has also been taken into custody by the police. This suspect is a resident of the Kekirawa area.
The police also discovered over Rs. 1.2 million in cash in the possession of the suspect identified as the gunman’s wife. The motorcycle used by the gunman and his wife to travel from Matara to Kekirawa was also found at the location. Additionally, the police found heroin, Ice (methamphetamine), and equipment used for drug consumption inside the house where the suspects had been hiding, Police Media Spokesman Udaya Kumar Wudlar said.
Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ananda Wijepala stated in Parliament on the 23rd that the killer of Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Lasantha Wickramasekara would be brought before the law within two or three days. The Minister further said that important information related to the case had already been received.
According to the Police Media Division, under the guidance of Minister Ananda Wijepala, the Secretary of the Ministry, and Retired Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ravi Seneviratne, the investigations and the arrest of the suspects connected to the shooting were conducted under the direct supervision of Inspector General of Police (IGP), Attorney-at-Law Priyantha Weerasooriya.
The investigations are being carried out under the direction of Senior DIG in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Attorney-at-Law Asanka Karawita, with the involvement of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division of the CID and the Southern Province Senior DIG Kithsiri Jayalath, who are jointly supervising several police teams conducting a comprehensive investigation.
Under the supervision of the Senior DIG of the Southern Province, an individual who had reported to the Matara Divisional Crime Investigation Unit was also taken into custody in connection with the case.
Officers of the Weligama Police have also arrested another suspect. This suspect was identified as the three-wheeler driver who had driven the main suspect, his assistant, and the main suspect’s wife to several areas including Galle, both on the day before the murder, the day of the murder, and the day after the murder, where they had purchased clothes and helmets. He is a 56-year-old resident of Hiyare, Galle.
From the moment of the shooting incident, the officers of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division had been engaged in a technical operation under the direction of Senior DIG Asanka Karawita, tracking the mobile phone number used by the gunman. This number had been identified through technical analysis.
Investigations by the CID officers have revealed that, after the shooting of the Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman, the gunman and the motorcycle rider traveled from Matara to the Uva Province using two motorcycles.
The investigations further revealed that both the gunman and the rider escaped from Matara to Kekirawa, passing through Katharagama, Thanamalwila, Wellawaya, Ridimaliyadda, and Mahiyanganaya, and had stayed overnight in several locations along the way.
According to the investigation findings, the gunman traveled nearly 500 kilometers on a motorcycle from Weligama to Kekirawa after the shooting. Based on a tip received that the motorcycle rider had hidden his motorcycle in a location within the Uva Province, a police team conducted an operation yesterday to recover it.
After hiding the motorcycle, the rider had joined the gunman and his wife, riding together on the gunman’s motorcycle towards Kekirawa. Reports also indicate that the three of them — the gunman, the rider, and the gunman’s wife — had bought food from a hotel in the Bakamuna area that same evening.
Police information further revealed that CCTV footage is being analyzed to determine how the trio managed to travel from Uva to Kekirawa while avoiding police detection.
According to the Police Media Division, the suspect has two tattoos on his arms — on the upper right arm, the name “ANURADA” is inscribed in English, and on the left arm, the Sinhala phrase “Hithumathe Jeevithe” (meaning “Life as the Heart Desires”) is tattooed.
This report was compiled by Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe and Gandara Group – Jayasiri Peduraarachchi.
The funeral of Mr. Lasantha Wickramasekara, Chairman of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha, was held yesterday evening (26) at the Midigama family burial grounds, with many relatives and mourners in attendance.
