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Daylight robberies, murders trigger alarm over security
A spate of robberies has prompted the police to alert financial institutions, pawn shops and banks to be extra vigilant.
Among the incidents that has caused alarm, is the robbery in Miriswatte, Gamapaha, two weeks ago, when two suspects fled with more than Rs 4 million from a financial institution. Two armed men in full-faced helmets grabbed cash and gold jewellery and fled in a motorbike.
Scene of the crime: A fisherman was shot dead in broad daylight in Pallimulla, Panadura and (inset) the assailants
Senior Superintendent of Police for Gampaha, Indika de Silva, said on Friday that the suspects are being sought.
Other similar robberies have taken place in and around the Gampaha District. In one such incident, suspects got away with cash from a supermarket in Enderamulla, while in Wattala, a failed robbery was reported.
“Financial institutions should be on alert for people who come wearing full-faced helmets, or those loitering in the area,’’ said the Deputy Inspector General of Police Ajith Rohan.
Suspects do their own surveillance, he said.
He advised that CCTV cameras be switched on around the clock.
Other robberies, too, have been on the increase in the recent weeks.
A senior police officer said there is less attention to crime because their workload related to the coronavirus has increased. Some policemen had themselves been infected.
Investigations have been held up for several months in some cases.
Meanwhile, a government decision to release thousands of suspects from remand custody to reduce heavy congestion in prisons and also as a result of the coronavirus spread in prisons, is also a concern for law enforcement.
A number of serious crimes, including murders, have caught public attention.
Last Monday, a gang hacked to death a 24-year-old in Meetiyagoda.
The police have arrested five suspects, while a Pradeshiya Sabha member from Batapola is wanted for allegedly organising the attack.
Also, this week, a 34-year-old fisherman was shot dead in broad daylight in Pallimulla, Panadura.
The gunman, carrying a T56 rifle, had got off a bike and tried to open fire but had failed, and then his accomplice had given him a 9mm pistol to gun down the fisherman, identified as Lakshan Sandakalum. The suspects then fled on their bike.
The police got an early breakthrough after they arrested another passenger in the three-wheeler in which the victim was travelling. On information provided by the suspect, another person was arrested and the T-56 recovered.
The suspects had been at a rented premises and the motorbike dumped in the Bolgoda lake. Navy divers have been called into retrieve the bike.