කරන්දෙනිය සුද්දාගේ වෙඩික්කරුවකුටව්‍යාජ හැඳුනුම්පතක් හැදුවැයි මීවල ග්‍රාම නිලධාරි අත්අඩංගුවට

The Grama Niladhari (village officer) of Meewala division No. 315, belonging to the Attanagalla Divisional Secretariat, has been arrested by the Western Province South Crime Division on charges of preparing a fake identity card for the chief gunman of Karandeniya Sudda, a leader of an organized crime gang. The arrested individual is a 49-year-old resident of Yatiyana, Nittambuwa.

The gunman who obtained this fake identity card is a former navy soldier. Police investigations have revealed that under the direction of Karandeniya Sudda, he carried out seven shootings without ever being caught by the police, killing eleven people. The double murder of lawyer Buddhika Gayan Mallawarachchi and his wife near a supermarket in Akuregoda, Talangama, on February 13, 2026, using a T56 firearm and a pistol, was also a major crime committed by him. The other gunman involved in that double murder, a former army soldier, was arrested behind a house in Ampegama, Baddegama, in a cinnamon land, while this navy soldier was recently apprehended in the Monaragala area.

This navy soldier, named Manangoda Kamkanamge Manoj Udayanga, had obtained a national identity card and a passport using the fake name "Ruban Suresh". Investigations conducted through the Department for Registration of Persons revealed that the real Ruban Suresh is a resident of the Matale area, and interrogations with him confirmed that his identity card went missing in the Lindula area in early 2025. Further investigations revealed that the suspect navy soldier obtained his photographs from a photo studio in Wathupitiwala and presented a forged police report of a lost identity card, falsely claiming it was issued by Nittambuwa Police, to the relevant Grama Niladhari to obtain this identity card under the one-day service.

Police suspect that the arrested Grama Niladhari is severely addicted to alcohol, and that the criminal might have chosen him specifically to achieve his cunning objectives for this reason. When questioned about the incident, the Grama Niladhari stated that he had no recollection of it, and he was scheduled to be produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate's Court. These investigations are being conducted under the direction of Assistant Superintendent of Police Janaka Kumara, Director of the Western Province South Crime Division, and Acting OIC Police Inspector T. K. Isuru Shamika. Police Sergeants 70471 Tennakoon, 72613 Wijesundara, 76495 Krishantha, and 76947 Manjula, as well as Police Constables 104619 Kithsiri, 104701 Jayathilaka, and 15079 Jayasinghe, are also participating in the investigations.