• Getaway van driver and cop linked to female suspect nabbed 
• Shooter and driver detained under PTA, a trainee PC on Negambo Court duty linked to female suspect via phone convo  
• No family member yet to claim victim’s body from Police Mortuary 
• Motion filed by citizen Mohamed Azam Sherifdeen against his name being linked to arrested hitman 

The driver of the van used by the gunman in the murder of organised crime and drug-trafficking suspect Sanjeewa Kumara Samararatne alias ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ to flee towards Puttalam, has also been arrested by Police.

This was confirmed by the Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala during yesterday’s (20) Parliamentary session.

Further, the Colombo Crimes Division has informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court (MC) that two suspects are currently in Police custody in connection with the murder of ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ and that they will be detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act as amended (PTA) for further investigations. Accordingly, the Court was told that the suspected gunman of the shooting and the driver of the vehicle he used to flee were arrested and will be detained under the PTA for further investigations.

The suspected gunman who shot and killed ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’, inside the Hulftsdorp Courts Complex was arrested on Wednesday (19) evening in the Palaviya area in Puttalam by Police Special Task Force personnel, while fleeing in a van. ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ was fatally shot on Wednesday morning in the Number Five MC within the Aluthkade Courts Complex. He was remanded in custody at the Boosa Prison, was escorted to Court on Wednesday morning by Prison officials for Court proceedings. 

The Police also discovered the revolver-type firearm which was used in the shooting inside the Court complex.

Moreover, a motion has been filed with the Colombo MC, stating that the name of the main suspect arrested in connection with the murder of ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ was wrongfully made public as Mohamed Azam Sherifdeen, causing discredit to an individual bearing that same name and his family members. This motion was filed by a brother of an individual with the actual name of Mohamed Azam Sherifdeen, who was said to be aggrieved as a result of the incident. 

Attorney-at-law Dasun Perera, presenting evidence before the Court regarding the motion, stated that the name of the suspect arrested by the Police in connection with the murder of ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ is in fact not Mohamed Azam Sherifdeen. He further emphasised that the person named Mohamed Azam Sherifdeen and the arrested suspect are two separate individuals. He explained that this misidentification has caused significant legal and social problems for Mohamed Azam Sherifdeen’s family and hence requested the Court to issue an appropriate order to rectify the situation. After considering the facts presented, Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali informed the lawyers to submit the request once the suspect involved in Ganemulla Sanjeewa’s murder is officially produced before Court, as he is yet to be produced to the Court.

Speaking during yesterday’s Parliamentary session regarding the arrested suspects involved in the ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ assassination, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala stated that the main suspect has been identified as Samindu Dilshan Piyumanga Kandanaarachchi, a resident of Dambahena Road, Maharagama.

However, the Police Media Spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police Buddhika Manathunga stated on Wednesday that the suspect had appeared under several different names including Mohamed Azam Sherifdeen at various instances.

Police meanwhile offered a reward for members of the public who provide information on the whereabouts of the female accomplice of the shooter, who, like the shooter, was in disguise as a lawyer, and had brought the revolver used in the murder to Court carrying inside a hollowed out legal book and handed it over to the assassin to carry out the hit.  

Furthermore, a police officer attached to the Negombo Police Station was arrested yesterday over his alleged links with the female suspect wanted in connection with the murder of ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’. The Policeman in question is said to be a Trainee Police Constable (PC) assigned to Court duty under the Negombo Police Crimes Unit and has been arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD). He is a 25-year-old resident of Padeniya. Investigations have uncovered that the said police officer had engaged in a phone conversation with the said woman, Pinpura Dewage Ishara Sewuwandi. The Policeman has been taken into custody after recording a preliminary statement while he has been taken to the CCD for further investigations. 

‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ was a suspect in 19 murder cases, according to the Police.

Meanwhile, heightened security measures were observed at the entrance gates of the Aluthkade Courts Complex yesterday morning.

Elsewhere, no relatives of ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ have come forward to claim his remains. As a result, the body remains at the Colombo Police Mortuary, awaiting collection by family members, the Police said.