Police have discovered a car believed to have been used by gunmen in the killing of a lawyer and his wife in Thalangama-Akuragoda, authorities said.
The vehicle was found abandoned on a byroad in Agaliya, Galle, by officers of the Nugegoda Divisional Crimes Investigation Bureau. Police said the car was still on fire at the time it was located.
The victims were identified as Attorney-at-Law Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife. Acting on information that the suspects’ vehicle had been left in the Agaliya area, officers rushed to the scene and found the car engulfed in flames.
Police suspect that the double murder was orchestrated by an organized crime figure identified as Jayalath Silva, also known as “Karandeniya Sudda,” who is believed to be hiding overseas.
Investigators said the slain lawyer had previously appeared in court on behalf of Karandeniya Sudda but had later represented a rival criminal figure known as “Loku Petti.”
The Nugegoda Divisional Crimes Investigation Bureau is conducting further investigations.(Newswire)