‘Angoda Lokka’ and ‘Athurugiriye Ladiya’ planned to leave India for Dubai

The Crime Branch-CID (CB-CID) of the Tamil Nadu Police on Saturday completed interrogation of Sri Lankan underworld figure Angoda Lokka’s close aide Chanuka Thananayake alias ‘Athurugiriye Ladiya’ in custody for five days.

He was interrogated along with T. Gopalakrishnan alias Jayaprakash who gave him shelter in Bengaluru, the Hindu reported.

The CB-CID team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police P. Sivakumar took the two men to Bengaluru from where they were arrested by a special team on November 13. 

The CB-CID had seized electronic gadgets, mobile phones and SIM cards from them. Thananayaka, who left Sri Lanka along with Angoda Lokka a few years ago, had managed to obtain an Aadhaar card by producing forged documents.

Sources in the CB-CID said that Gopalakrishnan was previously arrested for sheltering Sri Lankan drug dealer Suresh Raj in Bengaluru. Raj was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the smuggling of weapons and drugs by a suspected international network. Gopalakrishnan gave shelter to Thananayaka on the instructions of Raj, said sources.

CB-CID produced the duo before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday. They were remanded in judicial custody till December 3.

Sources in CB-CID told IANS said that questioning is being done to ascertain whether Angoda Lokka had indulged in any criminal activity during his stay in Coimbatore.

Meanwhile the investigation by the Crime Branch CID (CB-CID) has found that Angoda Lokka, who died while hiding in Coimbatore in July 2020, planned to get a passport using forged documents to leave India.

The CB-CID suspects that Angoda Lokka, who lived in Coimbatore as Pradeep Singh, wanted to leave for Dubai. His close aide Chanuka Thananayaka alias ‘Athurugiriye Ladiya’, whom the CB-CID arrested from Bengaluru on November 13, also planned to leave India, sources privy to the investigation told The Hindu.

However, the CB-CID is yet to confirm whether Lokka engaged in illegal activities while hiding along with the Sri Lankan woman near Cheran Ma Nagar in Coimbatore, until his death on July 3, 2020.

The investigators are checking whether Angoda Lokka and Athurugiriye Ladiya were into drug trade while hiding in India as they were part of a drug syndicate in the island nation.

“Both Lokka and Thananayaka were arrested in 2017 for illegal stay in India. They are believed to have reached India through illegal ferry. The two remained at large after getting bail. They did not want to return to Sri Lanka fearing arrest and threats from a rival gang. Their plan was to leave India by sourcing passports using forged documents,” an officer said.

According to the officer, the CB-CID recovered forged documents, including Aadhaar card, from Thananayaka when he was apprehended from Bengaluru. Likewise, Angoda Lokka possessed an Aadhaar card in the name of Pradeep Singh and underwent a plastic surgery for his nose.

Angoda Lokka aka Madummage Chandana Lasantha Perrera, 35, the Sri Lankan gangster was staying at Balaji Nagar, Coimbatore in hiding and he passed away on July 3, 2020 reportedly due to cardiac arrest.

His body, according to Tamil Nadu police, was cremated in Madurai by his female companion, Aman Dhanji, and lawyer Sivakami Sundari. Police later came to know that Angoda Lokka had concealed his identity, and they arrested Aman Dhanji, Sivakami Sundari, and her accomplice Dhyaneswaran on charges of concealing the Angoda Lokka’s identity. 

The CB-CID collected the samples of Angoda Lokka’s mother from Sri Lanka with the support of the agencies in the country to establish the identity through DNA test and found out that it was indeed the dreaded Sri Lankan gangster who passed away in Coimbatore on July 3, this year. 

During questioning, Sivakami Sundari told the police that the pistol of Angoda Lokka was handed over to Chanuka Thananayaka.

Source: The Hindu/IANS

-With inputs from agencies