Detention order issued on suspect arrested over Beliatta mass shooting

A detention order was issued on Thursday (Jan.25) on the suspect arrested in connection with the recent mass shooting in Beliatta in which five people were killed.

Deiyandara Magistrate delivered the order when the suspect was produced before the court.

Accordingly, the suspect will be detained until January 27 for onward investigations.

The arrestee was identified as the driver of the SUV used by the assailants and is also suspected of having orchestrated the mass shooting which took place on Monday (Jan.22).

The 55-year-old named Saman Kumara was arrested on Thursday (Jan.24) in Akuressa and earlier in the day, the vehicle used by the assailants was found parked near the Vidyaloka Pirivena in Galle.

Based on the information divulged by the suspect during interrogations, the investigating officers managed to locate a motorcycle and a van linked to the assailants.

The police believe that the perpetrators had used the impounded motorcycle to dispose of the two T56 firearms they had used to commit the murders. The van had been arranged for them to move under the radar.

Additionally, it was uncovered that an underworld figure hiding in Dubai had introduced him to the gunmen and that the shooting was initially planned to be carried out near the Tangalle court premises.

On January 22, a group of persons who had arrived in an SUV had opened fire at a white Defender near the Beliatta Interchange of the Southern Expressway.

In the shooting, which took place between 8:30 a.m. and 8:40 a.m., four persons were killed at the scene. The other person who was inside the Defender was rushed to the Tangalle Hospital with critical gunshot wounds, however, he succumbed to injuries shortly after.

Among the deceased was the leader of ‘Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya’ (Our Power of People Party or OPPP), Saman Perera.