News
Suspect wanted for aiding and abetting Middeniya triple murder nabbed at BIA
By Norman Palihawadane
A suspect wanted for aiding and abetting in the recent triple murder at Middeniya had been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake while attempting to flee to Dubai, police said.
The suspect, a 23-year-old man from Katuwana in Angulandeniya, was taken into custody by the CID. His arrest brings the total number of suspects taken into custody in connection with the murder to 13; they include two police constables and two army deserters.
The tragic shooting occurred on the night of 18 Feb., near the Kadewatta Junction in Middeniya, targeting a man identified as Aruna Vidhanagamage, alias ‘Kajja,’ who was travelling with his two children on a motorcycle. He was killed on the spot, while his critically injured children were rushed to nearby hospitals. The six-year-old daughter succumbed to her injuries shortly after arriving at the Tangalle Hospital, and the nine-year-old son died the following day.
Police suspect the murder was a revenge attack linked to the theft of a cannabis parcel belonging to a notorious drug trafficker, ‘Backhoe Saman.’ The arrested gunman, along with nine other suspects, reportedly confessed that he carried out the murder on a contract from ‘Backhoe Saman’ due to his own personal indebtedness.
The suspect, taken into custody yesterday, had been hiding in Diyatalawa before attempting to flee the country. He is expected to be handed over to the Middeniya Police for further questioning.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
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