Four killed, two injured in separate shootings linked to organised crime

By Hemantha Randunu, Dilip S. Jayasekera, and Piyasiri Ariyarathne

Four persons were shot dead and two others wounded in separate incidents that occurred in Tangalle, Dehiwala, Rasnayakapura, and Midigama on Wednesday night and Thursday morning (19).The police said those shootings had been over personal disputes, they were not politically motivated.

Thirty-three-year-old Nayagam Wishwanadan was shot dead around 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday inside a shop on Saranankara Road, within the Kohuwala police division. Nayagam, the shop owner, resided in Nedimala, Dehiwala. Two men who arrived on a motorcycle carried out the attack. The assailants entered the shop, asking for a cigarette before opening fire on Nayagam, who had no prior criminal record.

In a separate incident on Thursday morning (19th), one person was killed, and two others were seriously injured in a shooting in

Midigama. According to the police, two unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on the victims, killing 38-year-old Kelum Chathuranga. The other two victims are receiving treatment at Karapitiya Hospital. Police suspect that associates of Midigama Chooti carried out the attack.

Another shooting on Wednesday resulted in the death of a 30-year-old man at a restaurant in Rasnayakapura, Kurunegala. The victim was a resident of Thammuwewa, Rasnayakapura.Meanwhile, on Wednesday, 33-year-old Deshan Eranda, a cowherder, was shot dead in Dematawewa, Tangalle. Eranda was killed with a 12-bore shotgun.