A lot of wisdom dawns after the fact; and this is what we have seen in the James Bond-style drama that unfolded in Hultsdorf on Wednesday when a high-profile prisoner, Ganemulla Sanjeewa described as an underworld kingpin, was shot dead in the dock by a gunman disguised as a lawyer. A woman accomplice, also pretending to be a lawyer, had smuggled in the revolver used for the shooting. This, ironically, was hidden in a copy of the Criminal Procedure Code hollowed out in the shape of the firearm used.
The victim, categorized as a high-profile prisoner, was brought to court from the Boossa Prison under armed Special Task Force (STF) escort. As he was considered a possible target given his previous criminal record, special arrangements had been made to produce him in court where he faced three cases. But all that proved to be of no avail as he was shot dead at point blank range.
Thanks to the STF which within hours arrested the suspected gunman at Pallavi near Puttalam, the law enforcers have been able to wipe some egg off their faces. But not all of it. The suspect’s woman accomplice has not been arrested at the time of writing although an island wide dragnet had been thrown to arrest her. A police constable who had telephone contact with her is under arrest. While this may not be directly connected to the crime, it speaks volumes of the company some policemen keep.
Undoubtedly there was some very smart police work, aided by CCTV footage from the crime scene, that led to the arrest on the very day the crime was committed. The clothing worn by the killer which he had ditched has been recovered, the vehicle he rode and its driver taken to custody and much more. Hopefully, photographs of the woman now widely distributed would help her early apprehension.
It is not known whether the main suspect now in custody was headed for the coast in an attempt to leave the country by fishing boat. Many criminals guilty of heinous offenses here, both during and after the civil war have escaped to India.
Some of them are now being brought back both from India as well as Dubai where a number of Lankan mobsters are holed out. Television visuals of some of these criminals/suspects with white cloth thrown over their heads being escorted out of the Bandaranaike International Airport is common fare in evening television news.
Some such criminals are reported to be directing underworld activities by telephone, sometimes with participation of jailbirds here. Thankfully, Interpol red notices and other devices used to combat global crime are helping law enforcement in many countries including Sri Lanka.
A lot of crime detection work is now possible by analyzing mobile telephone records. Journalist Keith Noyahr in 2008 was able to escape alive after being tortured by state agents thanks to the location of his whereabouts by telephone signals and a series of telephone calls by VVIPs in the dead of night. Noyahr subsequently fled the country and has refused to return to help prosecute his abductors.
Who can forget Kumaran Pathmanathan, best known by his initials as KP, reputed to be the LTTE’s chief arms procurer and designated as Prabhakaran’s successor who was arrested in Malaysia in August 2009 weeks after the war had ended and brought back to Sri Lanka during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s time as defence secretary. Although a great ho ha was made about the arrest, he was never prosecuted and continues to live in the north where he has set up an NGO doing charity work enjoying security from successive governments.
Wednesday’s shooting at the Fort Magistrate’s Court in Hultsdorf is not the first of its kind. In January 2004, another underworld figure, Dhammika Amarasinghe, was similarly shot dead by a man disguised as a law student. The assailant was immediately overpowered, arrested and prosecuted. Apart from that, there have been dozens of killings of suspects as well as key witnesses, either on their way to or leaving court.
Then there was also the killing of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya and his police bodyguard in November 2004. Ambepitiya was well known as a ‘no nonsense’ judge imposing stiff sentences on persons convicted in his court. These included a 200 year sentence on LTTE leader, Veupillai Prabhakaran, tried in absentia and jail terms for military personnel for murdering Tamil youth at the Bindunuwewa Rehabilitation Center. He also sentenced two Air Force officers to nine years jail for threatening a senior journalist. Fortunately, his killers were apprehended and successfully prosecuted.
For far too long, gangsters and hardcore criminals have had an unholy nexus with politicians who provided them with cover to thrive. Corruption within the criminal justice system has also encouraged organized crime. Names like Gonawela Sunil, pardoned for an offense of rape and the notorious Soththi Upali rewarded for his services with Gam Udawa contracts will be familiar to most readers.
Breaking this cycle requires urgent reforms, starting with the depoliticization of the police and the Attorney General’s Department. Ensuring these institutions function independently, free from political interference, will help restore public confidence in the justice system and curb the impunity enjoyed by organized crime networks.
