Police, STF launch search operation to nab suspects who fled after shootout

The Police and Special Task Force (STF) have launched a special search operation inside a forest reserve in Matara this morning to apprehend two suspects who escaped during a shootout between the STF and an armed gang at Kamburupitiya yesterday (25). 

The shootout yesterday resulted in the death of Manel Rohana alias 'Tilak,' an alleged key accomplice of underworld leader 'Makandure Madush.' The two suspects who escaped had allegedly been with him at the time of the incident. 

Based on information received that an armed group was roaming about the Kamburupitiya area, the STF yesterday had placed a roadblock at Wilpita in the Kamburupitiya-Akuressa road. They had ordered a suspicious looking three-wheeler to stop but the occupants had allegedly ignored the order. 

STF officers had then given chase and the occupants had allegedly stopped the vehicle near a wooded area before firing on the STF personnel as they approached, resulting in the shootout. Officers subsequently found one of the suspects, later identified to be Manel Rohana, lying with gunshot wounds. He was admitted to hospital but succumbed to his injuries. A T56 firearm was also recovered at the scene, according to police.  

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