Police hot on trail of 2 suspects in Kamburupitiya double murder

Of the 4 suspects 1 shot dead in firefight, another hospitalised under police custody

Six special police teams appointed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) N.K. Illangakoon are hunting for two of the four suspects involved in the Kamburupitiya double murder of a police constable and his wife.

Police said one of the suspects was shot dead during a firefight on Friday, while the second suspect, Sumith Priyadharsha (30), an Army deserter, was arrested.

Explaining the firefight, Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said the second suspect, in his statement to the police, had stated he had hidden the murder weapons in a forest area at Karaputugala in Kamburupitiya.

“When the police went to recover the weapons, the suspect suddenly began to fire at the police with a 9 mm. revolver weapon and the police returned fire. The injured suspect was admitted to the Kamburupitiya Hospital,” he said.

Last Saturday, police constable (PC),W. Liyanarachchige Sunil (33) and his wife U.A. Apsara Samanmali (29) were brutally killed at Masmulla in Kamburupitiya.

Sunil was attached to the Corruption Eradication Unit of the Matara Police Division. On the day of the killing, around 10 p.m., a group of men in a threewheeler had arrived at Sunil’s house. They entered the house by breaking open the doors, police said.

Sunil lived with his wife and two children and they were asleep when the break-in occurred. The men had attacked Sunil and his wife Apsara with clubs. Their two-year- old son, Dulanka Yasith was badly injured.

Their six-year- son, Asurinda Sulakshana, who survived the incident without injuries, had been asleep wrapped in a bedsheet, and probably not noticed by the gang.

When Asurinda woke up, he had seen his parents and brother were severely injured and had shouted out. Sunil’s relatives who lived next door had rushed to the house and admitted the injured to hospital, police said.

Sunil was admitted to Kamburupitiya Hospital while Apsara and the two-year- old boy were admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital, Galle. Both husband and wife were pronounced dead on admission while their youngest son, Dulanka was admitted to the ICU with critical injuries.

According to police the victim who had been posted at various police stations including Ampara, Mawarella, Thihagoda and Kamburupitiya had been involved in a number of raids, especially related to drug detections.

His last raid, two weeks before he was killed, was within the Welikada Prison, where seven inmates were arrested for selling drugs.

Police also said that Sunil was also involved in many raids in his own village Walasmulla.

Last April, he was involved in a raid at a gambling centre where a villager wanted for many crimes including rape, murder and drug trafficking was arrested for circulating counterfeit Rs. 2,000 notes at the gambling centre.

Police said sniffer dogs were used to trace the murder suspects. The postmortem examinations revealed that Sunil had been shot in his head and beaten with clubs, while his wife was clubbed to death.