When Acting Kaduwela Magistrate B.G.P Karunaratna arrived at the scene where gunmen shot Surendra Wasantha Perera, also known as Club Wasantha, on Monday (08), to conduct a magisterial inquiry, he told policemen that the situation in Sri Lanka was similar to that of Chicago in the past and that the police should be ashamed that gunmen were carrying out assassinations in broad daylight. Given the seriousness of the incident, the judge instructed the on-site police officers to move quickly to solve the crime.
“People don’t feel safe, and nobody is safe. Criminals arrived, fired a shot, and fled. The judge informed the police that this occurred less than a kilometre from the police station.
“The magistrate chastises the police for a grave failure to prevent crime.”
On Monday, during the tattoo parlor’s opening ceremony in Athurugiriya, Perera and his driver were shot and killed by gunmen. A number of other victims of the attack, including well-known singer K. Sujeewa, are undergoing treatment at the National Hospital in Colombo as well as the Homagama Hospital. The arrival of the gunmen in a white car and their use of two T56 assault rifles were confirmed by the police.
The attackers’ vehicle was subsequently discovered abandoned in Koratota, Kaduwela. They had taken off in a van, which was later located as well. The cars had fictitious registration numbers on them.
Under questioning on Tuesday (09), the tattoo parlor’s owner, Dulan Sanjula, admitted that he had planned the assassination at the request of an international criminal. He claimed that in order to guarantee Wasantha’s death, he had received a million rupees from an individual by the name of Ahungalle Loku Patty, a collaborator of underworld boss Kanchipani Imran.
According to Sanjula’s statement to the police, he opened the tattoo parlour with the intention of luring Wasantha and killing him. Via social media, Sanjula connected with Wasantha and became friends with him. Sanjula’s spouse sustained injuries in the same incident. As a result of the incident, six people have been arrested thus far. Sanjula’s tattoo parlour was later established in a salon where a person was killed in January 2017.
The assassination was allegedly carried out, according to police, by underworld leader Kanjipani Imran, who resides abroad. The letter “KPI” was written on all 27 bullet casings that were discovered at the murder scene; according to the police, this stands for Kanjipani Imran.
The police claim that Wasantha and Imran had a falling out because Imran thought Wasantha had given information that helped his friend Makandure Madush, an underworld kingpin, be apprehended in 2019. Later, while under police custody, Madush was killed in what the police described as an underworld attack.
