Courtesy The Daily Mirror

• The causes behind these crimes range from gang-related activities to deep-seated personal disputes
• In response to the rise in criminal activities, Police said they had implemented various measures to address the escalating crime rates   

By DARSHANA SANJEEWA BALASURIYA   

Shortly after the shocking murder of underworld drug lord ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ inside the Colombo Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday morning which left the government rocked over a serious security lapse, and the tragic death of two innocent children and their father in Middeniya, killings have continued to plague the country with three deaths reported within the past 48 hours.   

Despite ongoing efforts by authorities to combat crime, and the tightening of security islandwide, Sri Lanka’s crime rates have soared, leaving numerous families devastated by senseless violence.   

The causes behind these tragedies range from gang-related activities to deep-seated personal disputes, but the consequences remain the same, as innocent lives are also lost.   

On Thursday, 24 hours after the devastating murders in court and Middeniya, a 29-year-old man from Kadawatha was shot and killed in Moganwatta, Ja-Ela. The police are investigating the motive behind the shooting and working to identify the suspects involved. This shooting marks the sixteenth of the year, concerning the persistent issue of gun violence in the country.  Police said that seven of the 16 shooting incidents were due to personal disputes, while 13 persons were killed in shootings connected to organised crime. Police have arrested more than 35 suspects in relation to these incidents so far.   

In a separate incident on Thursday in Nittambuwa, a married couple was severely injured after being hacked in front of a grocery store. The victims, a 43-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were attacked while they were shopping. The suspect fled the scene in the same three-wheeler the couple had arrived in.   

Police suspect that the attack was due to a financial dispute. The couple’s son sold cashew nuts on buses along the Kandy-Colombo Road, and the suspect is believed to have had an argument with the family over money. The suspect had reportedly threatened to kill the entire family because of the financial disagreement. 

 
Meanwhile, in another incident in Welimada, a 52-year-old man was fatally stabbed at Ambagasdowa. The victim had been working as a tree cutter and had offered to cut down a tree at Thawalampala Vidyalaya for free. Initial investigations have revealed that he was stabbed after an argument escalated when the suspects inquired about the reason for cutting down the tree without charging any money. After being rushed to Badulla Teaching Hospital, the victim succumbed to his injuries.   

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the stabbing while the Ambagasdowa Police are conducting investigations.   

In response to the rise in criminal activities, Police said they had implemented various measures to address the escalating crime rates.   

Last week, Police said they had taken measures to establish a Central Crimes Investigation Bureau (CCIB) in order to increase the efficiency of the investigation of cases under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).   
Police said that the new bureau will oversee investigations into a range of crimes, including the Illegal Assets Investigation Unit, Homicide and Organised Crime Investigation Unit, Financial and Commercial Crime Unit, Computer Crime Investigation Unit, Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Maritime Crime Investigation Unit, as well as the Criminal Intelligence and Intelligence Analysis Unit. 

(Additional reporting by Nishantha Kumara & Pushpakumara Mallawarachchi)