• Opposition Leader says Govt must clarify how such incidents occur despite emergency rule and deployment of tri-forces
• NR says public security has not been guaranteed 

Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa has said the Government must explain to the country how “Chicago-style” killings are taking place even in high-security zones at a time when a state of emergency is in force and the tri-forces have been deployed to maintain law and order.

Issuing a special statement following the shooting to death of a lawyer and his wife in the Akuregoda area, Premadasa said he was deeply shocked to hear of the murder and described the incident as another warning about what he called the serious and catastrophic situation currently facing the country.

He pointed out that one of the main slogans advanced by the present Government in its rise to power was the breakdown of law and order. He recalled statements made on public platforms claiming that the Government was capable of restoring discipline and security, and said those assurances are now being revisited in light of the latest incident.

Premadasa added the brutal double murder demonstrates that law and order in the country has collapsed and the Government is unable to ensure public safety. He also said measures taken by the Government to maintain law and order amount to little more than media spectacles. The Government, he said, claims to be combating the underworld, yet attempts to evade responsibility by linking every murder that occurs to the underworld or drug traffickers.

He further called on the authorities to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the murder and bring those responsible to justice. The Government, he said, must also take urgent steps to ensure national security, which he claimed has collapsed even within high-security zones. Furthermore, Premadasa said the Government should immediately clarify the facts to the country regarding the occurrence of such incidents in a high-security zone at a time when emergency regulations are in place and the tri-forces have been called in to maintain law and order.

The SLPP National Organiser and Opposition MP, attorney Namal Rajapaksa said that public security cannot be guaranteed when killings take place near the 'residence' of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. 

“The Ministers claim they have stopped daily shootings. However, they have actually failed in that endeavour. All decisions are made in Pellawatte (a reference to the National People's Power headquarters in Pelawatte), as claimed by the Government representatives. How could one guarantee public security when killings are taking place near there?” he added, referring to the recent killing of a lawyer and his wife in Akuregoda.

Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General (Retired), Aruna Jayasekara was not available for comment.