Update; Court grants permission to detain the brothers who assisted in the Akuregoda murder - No legal aid

The two brothers from the same family, who were arrested in connection with the shooting and killing of a lawyer and his wife last Friday (13) in the parking lot of a supermarket in Thalangama, Akuregoda area, were produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate's Court today (17). No lawyer appeared for the defendants, while nearly a hundred lawyers, led by Mr. Rajeev Amarasuriya, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, and President's Counsel Rienzie Arsecularatne, appeared before the court representing the aggrieved party.

The police's request to the court for a 48-hour detention order to further question the suspects was granted.

The individual known as "Polgasowita Dila," who is said to have instructed the two young suspects involved in transporting the two firearms used in this double murder, was also arrested today by the Western South District Crime Division. The 28-year-old suspect, arrested in the Polgasowita area, is connected to the drug network of "Malwane Tutu" and "Modara Nipuna," according to the police.

Investigations have now confirmed that he also went with the two arrested brothers to provide firearms to the shooters.

Interrogations of the arrested brothers revealed that "Modara Nipuna" and "Malwane Tutu" orchestrated these murders under the instructions of "Karandeniye Sudda." Meanwhile, a series of CCTV footage received by Ada Derana showed the suspect brothers jointly bringing a bag containing the relevant firearms in a car and handing it over to the shooters who were waiting near the Akuregoda supermarket. After handing over the weapons, they traveled towards Hokandara, and it was these two suspects who saw the lawyer approaching on that road at that time and informed the shooters about it.

Meanwhile, the car suspected to have been used by the killers was recently discovered by the police, set on fire and destroyed in a deserted area in Agaliya, Baddegama. Accordingly, officials from the Government Analyst's Department further inspected the car this morning.