It is suspected that Nandana Aiya was killed - we will perform a burial instead of cremation.

In light of the controversial situation that has arisen with the sudden demise of Mr. Nandana Gunathilaka, a UNP politician and former JVP member, his family members have decided to bury the body instead of cremating it, with the aim of facilitating future investigations. This decision was prompted by several parties in the political sphere raising doubts as to whether Mr. Gunathilaka's death was due to natural causes, and the revelation of information that a complaint had been lodged with an international organization regarding the death threats he had received.

Ms. Mangala Karunatilaka, Mr. Gunathilaka's sister, stated at a special press conference held at the Wadduwa Young Buddhist Association Hall that the cremation, which was previously scheduled to take place on Wednesday at the Wadduwa Public Playground, had been cancelled. She further mentioned that based on information received through a video released by an international organization monitoring political and economic crimes in Sri Lanka, the family decided to bury her brother's body at the Mahawadduwa Weragama Public Cemetery to preserve it.

According to a statement by the Executive Director of the said international organization, Mr. Gunathilaka had visited the organization last October and complained that his life, along with those of three other political activists, was under political pressure and threats. Ms. Mangala Karunatilaka strongly emphasized that even though they could not protect her brother while he was alive, it is their responsibility to preserve the body to allow for future investigations if any injustice or wrongdoing has occurred.

Meanwhile, former Member of Parliament Udaya Gammanpila has also raised serious doubts regarding Mr. Gunathilaka's death in a social media post. Mr. Gammanpila states that he had been closely associated with Mr. Gunathilaka over the past few months, during which Mr. Gunathilaka constantly expressed fear for his life. Mr. Gammanpila alleges that Mr. Gunathilaka had specifically told him that he might be assassinated, disguised as poisoning or a road accident.

The revelation of information about threats against Mr. Gunathilaka by other political commentators via social media has further intensified this suspicion. However, there has been no independent confirmation or official statement from the police regarding these allegations so far, and family members state that the burial is being carried out for the sake of transparency and to allow for future legal proceedings.

After Mr. Nandana Gunathilaka passed away following several days of hospital treatment, the post-mortem examination indicated a normal cause of death, citing medical conditions, and the family did not raise suspicions about the death at that time. Therefore, there was no impediment to the cremation of the body. However, under the new circumstances, the family is likely to request the exhumation of the body for further investigations.

While there are doubts as to whether a re-examination of Nandana Gunathilaka's death can prove it to be a murder with evidence, this process may be politically exploited to level accusations against the ruling JVP-NPP coalition.