Colombo, February 20 (Daily Mirror) – The main suspect arrested over Ganemulla Sanjeewa’s murder has been reportedly identified as a former Intelligence member of the Sri Lanka Army, the Daily Mirror learns.
The suspect was arrested by the Police Special Task Force (STF) in the Palaviya area of Puttalam.
The suspect is identified as 34-year-old Mohamed Azman Sherifdeen. The Colombo Crimes Division is conducting further investigations.
Sri Lankans were able to catch a glimpse of a real-life crime thriller following the attack on a notorious underworld figure alias ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ on Wednesday (February 19) morning at the Hulftsdorp Court Complex. Ironically, the assassin was disguised as a lawyer and had reportedly smuggled the weapon into the court complex by concealing it within the Code of Criminal Procedure.
On the same day, a 39 year old man and his two children were killed in a shooting in Kadewatte, Middeniya. An unidentified gunman had reportedly opened fire at the individual injuring his children who had been travelling with him on a motorbike. While the main target had succumbed to injuries on the spot and the two children also succumbed to injuries after being admitted to hospital. In a separate incident, the body of a 22-year old youth was discovered near Bloemendhal Road. A group of individuals on motorbikes had reportedly murdered the individual when he had come near the railway crossing with his wife on the evening of February 18.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also raised concerns on daylight shooting incidents targeted at innocent lives including those of children. He said that the government should respond firmly with regards to these incidents and to ensure law and order within the state. He said that the Opposition would give their fullest support in this regard.
In response, Chief Government Whip Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that the government is seriously monitoring the activities of the underworld and are taking various measures in this regard. He said that the underworld is involved in various organised crimes and that many of the masterminds are operating from overseas. He also referred to a directive issued by the Defence Ministry which requests individuals to handover small arms kept in their possession. Echoing similar sentiments, Acting Inspector General of Police SDIG Priyantha Weerasooriya said that the police is continuing raids to retrieve small arms and that pistol had been discovered during a raid conducted on Tuesday (February 18). He said that lawyers are not subject to security checks and that the assassin had made use of this opportunity to enter the premises in disguise.
61 killed in 100 shootings in 2024
According to a report in The Sunday Times, over a 100 shootings in 2024 left 61 dead and 47 injured. Police attribute the vast majority of 2024’s fatal shootings to clashes between organised crime gangs, as turf wars, mainly over drug trafficking. Since January this year a spate of shooting incidents continued. In one of them two individuals were killed while two others were injured following a shooting that took place in front of Mannar Court. On the same day, another shooting incident was reported near a school in Kalubowila. However no victims were recorded.
In 2005, Sri Lanka established, a National Commission against the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms (NCAPISA). This Commission monitors and deals with the proliferation of such arms in Sri Lanka and related matters. The Commission has taken steps to make a comprehensive assessment of the problem in the country, and to establish a national database on the civilian use of small arms and light weapons.
Sri Lanka’s national legislation that deals with small arms and light weapons (SALW) is based under the Firearms Ordinance No.33 of 1916, a pre-independence enactment and subsequent amendments to it, such as Firearms [Amendment] Act No 22 of 1996, which came into force on 1 January 1997. Furthermore, the Explosives Act and the Offensive Weapons Act also provide legislation as appropriate, in dealing with SALW.
The NCAPISA with the support of civil society carried out activities including the collection of illicit small arms and light weapons in the country except the war-torn North and East provinces. It has collected over 35,000 illicit small arms and destroyed them at the Independence Square on the International Gun Destruction Day on 7th July 2005. However, after the war ended, the NCAPISA de-functioned.
There were former leaders who gained mileage with presidential campaign slogans that promised national security. But their tenures were short-lived. Perhaps that is a good lesson for the incumbent government to differentiate between campaign promises and walking the talk, particularly with regards to establishing national security.
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