A former soldier turned alleged hired gun is held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act as police unravel a chilling contract murder that left a lawyer and his wife dead in a supermarket car park.
The suspect arrested on the 21st in the Delduwa area of Ambalangoda over the Akuregoda double murder has been detained for 90 days for interrogation. The detention order was issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, granting investigators extended powers to question him in connection with the shooting of a lawyer and his wife.
According to the Homagama Divisional Criminal Investigation Unit, the suspect is believed to be one of the gunmen directly involved in the high profile killing. He was arrested around 6.20 pm in Delduwa by a team from the Homagama Division Criminal Investigation Bureau. Police allege that he used a T 56 firearm to shoot the lawyer at close range in the parking lot of a supermarket in Akuregoda.
The suspect has been identified as 46 year old Sunil Ranjith, a former army soldier who was legally discharged during the general amnesty granted in 2009. He was apprehended while staying at a friend’s house in Ambalangoda and working on a nearby cinnamon estate.
A senior police officer stated that during preliminary interrogation, the suspect admitted to carrying out the murder. He reportedly told investigators that after the shooting, he exited the vehicle near Kottawa and boarded a bus to Ambalangoda to avoid detection.
Police further revealed that the suspect has alleged links with an underworld figure known as Karandeniya Sudda. During questioning, he claimed that the murder was carried out under a contract given over the phone by Sudda. He also told police that he received one hundred thousand rupees and heroin after completing the killing. Investigators are now examining financial transactions and prior connections, as it is suspected that he may have acted previously as a hired assassin.
However, authorities say that no additional murders have yet been conclusively linked to him.
The arrest was carried out by officers including Inspector RMR Chaturanga under the supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police Chandana Liyanage and Station Officer Amil Govina, acting on the advice of Deputy Inspector General Samantha Wijesekera.
The double murder shocked the nation when two unidentified gunmen opened fire on the couple in broad daylight. On instructions from the Inspector General of Police, twelve investigative teams were deployed. So far, nine suspects including one shooter have been arrested.
Police confirmed that two brothers from Athurugiriya who allegedly provided information about the lawyer’s movements and a coordinator known as Polgasovita Dila were among those detained. Six additional suspects were arrested by the Southern Provincial Special Operations Unit of the Police Special Task Force in Kahadua, Atkandura.
Meanwhile, investigators revealed that an individual who transported one of the shooters to a hotel in Pannipitiya has fled the country through Katunayake Airport to Thailand.
The case continues to unfold as law enforcement pursues a wider underworld network behind this calculated contract killing.
