News
Gangland shootings resurface in South
View(s):By Ishu Bandara
Two separate killings reported from Tangalle and Meetiyagoda this week have raised concerns over organised crime activity in the Southern Province, with police suspecting links to ongoing gang rivalries and narco networks.
On Tuesday 18 November, J.H. Wijath, 68, and P.H. Pushpa, 59, an elderly couple, were gunned down while at their shop in the Kapuhena Junction area of Unakuruwa, Tangalle.
The attack took place around 6:55 p.m., when two unidentified gunmen shot them and fled. The motorbike they used was later recovered abandoned in the Seenimodara area.
Police sources said the victims were relatives of a known local drug trafficker, “Unakuruwa Shantha,” and suggested that the double killing may be linked to internal conflicts of organised crime networks. Five police teams are investigating.
Separately in Meetiyagoda on Monday 17 November, a 48-year-old woman was shot dead near a restaurant at the Kiralagahawela Junction. The victim, Roshika Shamini, who worked as the cashier and was the wife of the restaurant owner, was attacked around 8:30 p.m.
Authorities believe the killing was linked to a dispute between two organised crime gangs. The victim was reportedly the sister of Mahadura Nalin, who was murdered several months ago. Police also think the attack may have been revenge for the recent murder of a rival gang member’s brother in law, known as “Karandeniya Sudda’’.The motorbike used by the assailants was later recovered abandoned.
On 19 November, during a morning raid in the Kapuwatta area of Midigama, the Colombo North Crime Division arrested a former soldier who had allegedly intended to kill a family. The suspect, a resident of Danketiya, Tangalle, had served in the Sri Lanka Army for about five years before resigning in 2013. He was arrested with a T-56 firearm, 30 rounds of ammunition, and a foreign-made live grenade.
Another incident was reported the same week. The gunman involved in a murder committed in Kotahena on November 7, was arrested from a house in Kolongoda, Hasalaka, on Wednesday, 19 November. The 39-year-old suspect is a resident of Kaduwela,
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