Courtesy The Island

Two shooting incidents could not be described as collapse of national security, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday.

Making a special statement to the House, Minister Wijepala said: We regret these unfortunate incidents. The government has taken severe measures following these incidents. The investigations are in progress and I assure you that there is no threat to national security.”

Those who now clamour about national security during the times they ruled the country, media institutions were on fire, journalists were killed. Two incidents would not amount to a threat to national security,” he said.

He said the suspect arrested in connection to the Wednesday’s shooting inside a Colombo Court Complex has been identified as Samindu Dilshan Piyumanga Kandanaarachchi, a resident of Maharagama.

The suspect was arrested in Palaviya, Puttalam Wednesday evening. This suspect has been found to be involved in several murders reported in the last two weeks,” he said.

The Public Security Minister said that the driver of the van used by the gunman to flee to Puttalam was also arrested, along with the vehicle. The minister said that investigations were underway to apprehend a woman said to be involved in aiding the shooting in which underworld kingpin Ganemulla Sanjeewa was killed.

He said that the incident was a result of continuous disputes between underworld gangs and did not cause any threats to national security or public safety.

These are incidents that have been repeatedly occurring due to clashes related to underworld activities and organized criminals. Such incidents have been reported for a long time in this country. This isolated incident should not be considered a threat to national security,” he said.