Sri Lanka Police says that it has been confirmed that Anura Vidanagamage, also known as “Kajja”, who was recently shot dead along with his two children in Middeniya, was in the vehicle that had followed slain former Sri Lankan rugby player Wasim Thajudeen’s vehicle moments before the latter was murdered.

Speaking at a press briefing in Colombo today (30), Acting Police Spokesman ASP Minura Senarath stated that this information was uncovered following the interrogation of underworld figure ‘Backhoe Saman’, who was recently arrested in Indonesia and is suspected to have orchestrated the killing of ‘Kajja’, and a statement provided by Kajja’s widow.

During the investigation, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) showed Kajja’s wife CCTV footage of Thajudeen purchasing a bottle of water from a shop near the Havelock City complex. She identified the person standing behind Thajudeen in the footage as her husband, noting his distinctive posture and long-standing back problems.

According to her statement, after Thajudeen buys the water bottle and leaves in his vehicle, her husband stops and enters a suspicious vehicle that had approached from behind and follows the vehicle of Thajudeen, who is murdered around 20 minutes later.

On February 18, “Kajja” was shot dead by an unidentified gunman, while his two children, who sustained critical injuries in the attack, succumbed later. 

The suspected gunman—who was later arrested along with nine others— had confessed that he carried out the execution on a contract from “Backhoe Saman” due to his own mounting personal debt.