By Roy Denish.
Police investigating the Akuregoda double homicide have arrested a Grama Niladhari accused of helping create false identity documents.
COLOMBO – The complex underworld network connecting a brutal suburban double homicide to a wider criminal syndicate expanded this week after the Southern Province Crime Division arrested a local administrative official for allegedly facilitating the production of false identity documents used by suspected killers.
The 49-year-old official, who served as the Grama Niladhari for Miwala Grama Niladhari Division No. 315 under the Attanagalla Divisional Secretariat, stands accused of helping provide fraudulent documentation to an underground network allegedly linked to the organised crime figure known as “Karandeniya Suddha”.
Investigators allege that the fraudulent documentation enabled members of the syndicate to move without detection and may have contributed to the circumstances surrounding the assassination of attorney Buddhika Gayan Mallavarachchi and his wife near a supermarket in Akuregoda, Thalangama.
The double homicide occurred on February 13 when the victims entered their vehicle to return home.
Police say they were intercepted by a vehicle carrying armed assailants who opened fire at close range using a T-56 assault rifle and a pistol, killing both husband and wife.
The precision of the attack sent shockwaves through the legal community and triggered an intensive multi-jurisdictional investigation.
Piecing together surveillance footage, intelligence, and informant information, detectives later tracked down suspects across different parts of the country.
A former military soldier accused of shooting the attorney was arrested while allegedly hiding inside a cinnamon plantation in Baddegama, Ampegama, while another suspect linked to the killing of the attorney’s wife was captured in Monaragala.
Subsequent questioning of the suspects, including former naval personnel allegedly operating within the network linked to “Karandeniya Suddha”, reportedly revealed possible connections to a series of other killings.
Investigators say information obtained during interrogations suggested that individuals linked to the network may have been involved in 11 previous homicides.
As the investigation expanded under the direction of Western Province Senior Superintendent of Police Janaka Kumara and Acting Unit Head Police Inspector T.K. Isuru Shamika, attention turned to how alleged members of the syndicate had managed to evade routine security checks.
A breakthrough reportedly emerged when investigators examined the background of a former navy member identified as Manoj Udayanga, also known as Manangoda Kamkanam.
Detectives discovered that Udayanga had allegedly established a false identity under the name “Ruban Suresh”, supported by fraudulent identification papers and what investigators described as a forged aviation-related licence intended to facilitate movement.
Investigations conducted through the Department for Registration of Persons reportedly revealed that the genuine identity credentials belonged to a Matale resident named Ruban Suresh, whose official documents had previously been reported lost in Lindula.
Police allege that the criminal network exploited this circumstance by obtaining a photograph from estate records, pairing it with a fabricated police report purportedly issued by Nittambuwa Police, and processing the documentation through a one-day service connected to the Attanagalla-Miwala Grama Niladhari division.
When questioned by investigators, the arrested village official reportedly claimed that he could not remember processing the documents.
Police are continuing to investigate whether the official knowingly assisted the network or whether he had been manipulated or bribed.
The suspect is expected to be produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court as the Southern Province Crime Division pursues further legal action.
The investigation continues under senior police supervision, with field operations reportedly involving Inspector T.K. Isuru Shamika, Sergeants Thennakoon (70471), Wijesundara (72613), Krishantha (76495), and Manjula (76947), together with Police Constables Kithsiri (104619), Jayathilaka (104701), and Jayasinghe (15079).
