A shooting incident in Mahabage has left a 42-year-old dead this morning (Feb.21), the police said.
According to the police, two unidentified assailants who arrived on a motorcycle had opened fire using a revolver, around 7:15 a.m. near a meat shop in Elapitiwala Junction, Mahabage.
The victim succumbed to injuries while being rushed to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama.
The deceased was identified as Hettiarachchige Don Sujith alias “Ukkuwa”, the brother-in-law of the criminal gang leader “Welle Saranga”. He was a resident of North Batagama in Ja-Ela and the owner of the said meat shop.
The motive behind the shooting was not immediately clear, but a rival gang led by “Dubai Nipuna” is under suspicions of orchestrating the murder. Reports also revealed that Sujith had been receiving death threats from “Dubai Nipuna’s” gang.
The body of the deceased has been placed at the mortuary of the Ragama Teaching Hospital.
Mahabage Police is conducting further investigations into the incident to apprehend the assailants.
