Police investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of the Beliatta mass murder reported yesterday, especially if it is linked to underworld gangs, the Police said.
According to the Police, preliminary investigations reveal that the shooting had occurred in retaliation for a triple murder in Tangalle.
Police investigations have revealed that the victims accused of having aided suspects involved in a murder in Tangalle in 2022 had been travelling in the Defender to appear before the court for the case proceedings.
They had exited the Southern Expressway at the Beliatta exit point and had stopped along the road for refreshments when a group in a Prado-type jeep followed them and opened fire.
The driver of the Defender had died in his seat, while the four other passengers had exited the vehicle and run into a nearby shop, where they had been chased by the suspects and shot dead. One victim who had sustained injuries had died upon admission to the Tangalle Hospital.
The Leader of the ‘Ape Janabala Pakshaya’ (Our Peoples Party), Saman Perera, is among the victims killed in the incident and is also among those accused of aiding the 2022 Tangalle Murder suspects.
The Police had also searched the residence of the late Saman Perera yesterday, on alleged information of concealed weapons, but had found no weapons. (NewsWire)