Aluthkade Court shooting not a threat to national security: Public Security Minister

Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala says that the shooting incident that took place inside the Hulftsdrop (Aluthkade) Courts Complex on Wednesday (19) was not any sort of threat to the national security, but instead is linked to longstanding conflicts between organized criminal gangs.

Responding to a request in parliament from Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to take stricter measures to ensure the safety of judges, journalists and civilians of the country citing yesterday’s incident, the Public Security Minister stated: “These underworld conflicts have existed for a long time. Media houses have been torched under various governments, and journalists have been murdered on the streets.” 

“Not only that, but numerous murders have taken place, some of which remain unsolved for over 10 to 15 years. However, as soon as this incident occurred, we promptly arrested the main suspect. We will also conduct investigations into past incidents. Our findings indicate that the suspect arrested yesterday was involved in several other murders committed in the past two weeks.”

“As soon as these crimes occur, we take immediate steps to arrest the suspects after conducting separate investigations,” he added.

“So, as a government, we believe that isolated incidents like this should not be considered threats to national security. Overall, we have ensured national security, and we can firmly certify that,” Wijepala asserted.

Furthermore, the Public Security Minister emphasized that the security detail for judges has not been reduced in any way. He attributed yesterday’s events within the Hulftsdorp Courts Complex to police personnel being prohibited from carrying or using weapons inside the court premises. 

He also noted that security authorities had successfully ensured the safe transport of the notorious underworld figure “Ganemulla Sanjeewa” from Boossa Prison to the court complex.