- Baddegama PS Dep. Chair assaulter remanded
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has obtained a 72-hour detention order to detain and interrogate the female lawyer who allegedly provided a copy of the Penal Code to Ishara Sewwandi, a suspect in the murder of organised crime suspect Sanjeewa Kumara Samararatne alias ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’, the Police said.
The female lawyer allegedly involved in Samararatne’s murder was arrested on Tuesday night (28) in the Kadawatha area for allegedly providing a copy of the Penal Code to Sewwandi to conceal the pistol used in the killing of Samararatne.
Samararatne was fatally shot by a gunman disguised as a lawyer in the Number Five Magistrate’s Court within the Aluthkade Courts Complex (Hulftsdorp) on 19 February. While the shooter was arrested by the security forces on the same day, the authorities had been pursuing Sewwandi, who allegedly brought the firearm into the Court premises.
Sewwandi, the fugitive suspect wanted in connection with the murder and who is suspected to have provided the copy of the Penal Code with the pistol concealed inside to the shooter, was arrested in Nepal on 14 October, along with several other suspects, during a joint operation conducted by the CID and the Nepali Police. Several individuals who assisted Sewwandi in evading arrest have also been taken into custody in connection with the murder.
Three Police teams are currently interrogating six suspects, including Sewwandi, in connection with the murder of Samararatne. It is reported that several important details related to Samararatne’s murder have been revealed during the questioning of Sewwandi.
Meanwhile, the suspect arrested in connection with the attack on the Deputy Chairperson of the Baddegama Pradeshiya Sabha (PS), Saman C. Liyanage, has been remanded until tomorrow (31). Police said that the suspect had surrendered to the Poddala Police through his attorney after evading arrest for four days. The suspect was later produced before the Galle Chief Magistrate Sameera Dodamgoda, where he was ordered to be remanded.
The incident had occurred on 24 October, when the suspect allegedly assaulted Liyanage. Liyanage, who sustained injuries in the attack, was admitted to the Galle National Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.