The suspect arrested in connection with the killing of a Buddhist monk at a temple in Malwathuhiripitiya has been gunned down by police while attempting to escape custody, police said.

The suspect had been escorted by officers to recover weapons allegedly hidden in the Yatawaka area in Attanagalla when he had attempted to escape prompting the policemen to open fire, according to police.

Police yesterday arrested the suspect who is believed to be the shooter in the murder of a Buddhist monk, who was shot dead at a temple in the Malwathuhiripitiya area in January.

The suspect, 32, was arrested in the Hambegama area in Moneragala while he is suspected to be the gunman who carried out the shooting.

In the early hours of January 23, a group of four assailants, who had arrived in a car, shot dead a Buddhist monk inside a temple in the Malwathuhiripitiya area of Gampaha.

The 45-year-old Buddhist monk, Ven. Kalapaluwawe Dhammarathana Thero, who sustained critical injuries in the incident, had been rushed to the Gampaha Hospital. But he later succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment.

Investigating officers have thus far arrested seven suspects allegedly complicit in the murder. The T-56 rifle supposedly used by the assailants and the remote switch of the car used in the shooting were recovered from the possession of the fourth suspect.