Contract Killing of Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Linked to Rs. 1.5 Million

Police investigations have revealed that the assassination of Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Lasantha Wickramasekara was carried out under a contract worth Rs. 1.5 million. The main gunman, now under arrest, has reportedly confessed that he received the assignment from an individual known as “Dubai Lokka.”

The Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) is currently interrogating six suspects, including the shooter, in connection with the murder.

The Chairman was shot dead while attending a public day event at the Pradeshiya Sabha office last Wednesday. The assailants escaped on a motorcycle, prompting police to launch a large-scale investigation using CCTV footage.

As a result of the inquiries, intelligence officers discovered that the suspects had been hiding in a house in the Kamat area, within the Kekirawa 50-Houses settlement. During a pre-dawn raid on Sunday, police managed to arrest the motorcycle rider and a female suspect, though the main shooter escaped after a brief confrontation.

In response, a massive operation involving CCTV tracking and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology was launched to locate the fugitive. The AI system generated possible facial reconstructions of the suspect in various disguises, which were distributed in real-time to investigators’ mobile phones.

Intelligence later indicated that the suspect had boarded a bus from Kekirawa to Colombo early Sunday morning, triggering search operations across Colombo, Maharagama, Nugegoda, and Athurugiriya.

Upon reaching Colombo, the suspect hid inside a housing complex in Borella-Sahasapura, where he cut his hair, changed clothes, and used narcotics to alter his appearance. He reportedly gave his mobile phone to a resident to charge it before leaving in a three-wheeler towards Nugegoda, seeking more drugs and planning to collect the remaining balance of the murder payment in Maharagama.

At a mobile phone shop near the Bo tree junction in Maharagama, the suspect attempted to purchase a charger. At that moment, he received a phone call from Dubai, instructing him to discard his mobile device immediately.

As he exited the shop and tried to flee, surveillance officers who had been tracking him confirmed his identity as the shooter and relayed the information to the coordination group via WhatsApp. Acting swiftly, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and intelligence units closed in and arrested him on the spot.

Police confirmed his identity through tattoos on his body, including “ANURADA” on his right upper arm, “හිතුමතේ ජීවිතේ” (“Life of Thoughts”) on his left arm, and tattoos on his chest referring to his wife and daughter (“Sandasi Duwa”).

The arrested suspect was identified as 28-year-old Nuwan Tharaka, a resident of Angulugaha, Galle. He is reportedly a repeat offender with five prior theft charges, two for robbery, and several for illegal possession of weapons.

Preliminary investigations have confirmed again that the murder was commissioned for Rs. 1.5 million.

Along with the main gunman, six suspects — including the motorcycle rider and the female accomplice arrested in Kekirawa — were handed over to the FCID on Sunday night for further questioning.

The suspects were presented before the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) on Monday afternoon. Police Media Spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) F. U. Wutler stated that the suspects would be produced in court after questioning, and detention orders would be sought to continue investigations.