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Police on the firing line over free-for-all firearms
Colombo’s Grandpass area was a hive of activity as the statue of St Anthony’s was being taken in procession to mark the annual feast last Sunday. There were sporadic sounds of fire crackers going off as the statue was received at every junction.
On one of the byroads, Andrewge Watta, four men had gathered and were watching the procession pass by as some of their relatives were participating in it. There were a few other spectators at the same spot too.
Chamara Janith
According to eyewitnesses, shortly before 9 p.m. a motorcycle rode up to the four men and a man who jumped off the bike sprayed the group with bullets from a T-56 automatic weapon. The assailants fled the scene leaving behind two dead and two others seriously injured.
Police say this was just one of the many recent cases where fire arms have been used to kill opponents.
An officer involved in the probe on the Grandpass incident said three of the victims were on bail – two were facing heroin-related charges and the third the charge of attacking a person with a knife. The dead have been identified as Chamara Janith, 28, and Kavinda Kelum, 26. The two who were injured are Chamara Sampath, 27, and S. Sashikumar, 33.
Soon after opening fire the gunmen had abandoned their motorcycle and fled in a three-wheeler that they had taken by force. Police say the bike which carried a bogus number plate had been stolen from Sapugaskanda in September last year, leaving them with no clues to track down the suspects.
In another firearm-related killing, also on the same day, a man in Kalawana shot dead his son with a rifle following an argument over a land dispute.
A senior officer at the Kalawana police said investigations were underway to ascertain how the suspect had come to possess the weapon. He has been remanded until July 16.
Kavinda Kelum
A Deputy Inspector General who did not want to be named said many of those firearms were believed to have come from the conflict areas.
He said the situation could be brought under control by launching a programme to collect illegal weapons. One method could be to offer rewards to those who surrendered or gave information on fire arms, he added.
“The police also need to build up confidence among the public. People do not give information as some times a name would leak out and the informant becomes a victim,” the DIG said.
Police occasionally make detections of illegally held weapons and ammunition. Last month two people were arrested in Kolinjadiya, Wennappuwa for possessing a galkata (a locally manufactured gun), a semi-automatic weapon, a 12 bore shotgun and three cartridges used for pistols.
“We found out that the weapons had been given to them by a person who is now in prison. They have the weapons to carry out robberies in houses and shops,” a senior officer attached to the Wennappuwa police said.
Police also pointed out that killings committed with the use of other weapons in addition to firearms were also on the rise. In Mount Lavinia, a 38-year-old man was stabbed to death by a relative following an argument. The victim, Kalinga Sudath Rohana, was visiting his niece’s house in Mount Lavina on Thursday when her husband stabbed him.
On the same day, a 25-year-old man was stabbed to death in an estate in Rathmalewatta, Kuliyapitiya following a dispute.
Criminal lawyer Nissanka Nanayakkara blamed the unholy nexus between politicians and criminal gangs for the free availability of firearms. “Criminal elements rent out weapons from these gangs with political patronage to carry out killings,” he said.
Mr. Nanyakkara said that although the Government could curtail the circulation of weapons, the police were ineffective due to the breakdown of law and order.
“The police do act against some criminals but they don’t take action against individuals such as the Hambantota mayor who brandished a weapon in the open,” Mr. Nanayakkara said.
He said the rise in crime was also linked to hardships faced by the public due to the rising cost of living.