News
Witness in attempted murder case killed on eve of trial
On Monday (12.12.2016) a fruit seller in the Meetiyagoda area was shot dead. The vendor was due to give evidence at the Balapitiya Magistrate’s Court the following Thursday regarding an earlier attempt on his life. The victim Vipul Priyantha (45) a father of three had on an earlier occasion too, been attacked by unidentified gang on February 13 this year and was hospitalised for several months. On that occassion he sustained serious injuries after being shot
Residents claimed Monday’s killing was to ensure the victim did not give evidence into the earlier attack.
In the aftermath of the killing the victim’s family too was subjected to death threats and his family was forced to hold the funeral at his wife’s village in Sandarawala, Baddegama.
Area residents said they feared even hoisting white flags in the area for fear of retribution from mobsters.
Residents said the latest killing was yet another indictment of the Meetiyagoda Police, who have allegedly failed to protect people from threats by armed underworld gangs who roam freely. A number of them said they suspect a nexus between police and the gangsters.
They added many of the officers had been serving at the station over a long period of time and had built relationships with the gangsters.
They pointed out to the fact that on March 1, 2015, a businessman and his wife were shot dead in proximity to the police station. However the culprits were never identified nor the murder weapon ever discovered.
Residents are now calling for the immediate transfer of all police personnel from the station and an urgent crackdown on the underworld in the area.