‘Angoda Lokka’ died of heart attack, India’s CB-CID says

The person alleged to be the fugitive gangster Maddumage Lasantha Chandana Perera alias ‘Angoda Lokka’ had died of heart attack in Coimbatore and no foul play was involved in his death, a senior officer of India’s CB-CID said on Wednesday based on the findings of the post-mortem, chemical examination and histopathology reports.

K. Shankar, Inspector General of Police, CB-CID, told The Hindu the three reports did not have any finding related to unnatural death. “There was no finding of poisoning or other suspected aspects in the reports,” he said.

As per the initial statement given by a Sri Lankan woman named Amani Thanji, who lived with the person believed to be ‘Angoda Lokka’ in a rented house at Balaji Nagar near Cheran Ma Nagar in Coimbatore, he suffered chest pain on the night of July 03 and was declared dead by doctors of a private hospital where she took him with the help of two neighbours. The body was later shifted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

Reportedly, ‘Angoda Lokka’ lived in Coimbatore under the assumed identity of Pradeep Sigh for around two years. He possessed an Aadhaar card in the name of Pradeep Singh which he managed to obtain with the help of two persons D. Sivakamasundari, an advocate of Madurai, and her friend S. Dyaneswaran from Erode.

Sivakamasundari, Dyaneswaran and Thanji had taken Angoda Lokka’s body to Madurai after post-mortem at CMCH on July 5 and cremated it there.

The Coimbatore City Police later found that the Aadhaar card, a copy of which was produced by Sivakamasundari at the Peelamedu police station, was obtained using forged documents. The police arrested the three persons on August 2.

The CB-CID later took over the case and registered two separate cases – one related to the death of Lokka and the other against the three on various charges, including furnishing false documents, harbouring offender, criminal conspiracy and forgery of records.

With suspected foul play in the death of the person alleged by Indian authorities to be ‘Angoda Lokka’ ruled out, CB-CID will now concentrate on the second case, added Mr. Shankar.

CB-CID investigation had also found that the ‘Angoda Lokka’had a pistol which the accused handed over to a Sri Lankan national in Madurai after his death. Efforts to trace the man are under way.

However, Sri Lankan authorities have not yet confirmed that the deceased person in question is in fact the Sri Lankan don hiding in India, ‘Angoda Lokka’.

Source: The Hindu