By Hemanta Randunu
A notorious underworld figure, Aruna Widanagamage alias Middeniye Kajja, and his six-year-old daughter, were shot dead, on Tuesday (18) night, by contract killers at Kadewatta Junction in Middeniya, Tangalle. Initial police investigations indicate that the killing was carried out by a gang operating in the southern region.
Widanagamage’s eight-year-old son was also seriously injured in the attack and is currently receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit of the Embilipitiya Hospital.
Widanagamage was travelling on a motorcycle, with his three children, after dropping off his eldest child at a friend’s house. While heading towards another location, with his remaining two children, two hired gunmen on a motorcycle followed and ambushed them at around 10.15 PM, firing shots from a T-56 assault rifle.
Widanagamage died at the scene, while his six-year-old daughter succumbed to her injuries after being admitted to the Tangalle Hospital. His eight-year-old son remains under intensive care with severe injuries.
Police records indicate that Widanagamage was involved in numerous criminal activities across Tangalle, Middeniya, Karandeniya, Meegahama, and Medamulana, including extortion, contract killings, illegal possession of weapons, and armed robberies. His primary source of income was said to be gambling on ‘buru’, a local card game. Police investigations have revealed that on the night of the attack, he had left his children at a friend’s house and was on his way to a gambling den.
In 2024, he was involved in a robbery in Weeraketiya, where he and his accomplices, armed with weapons, stormed a gambling establishment, terrorised those present, and robbed cash. He had been imprisoned for this crime but was released on bail a few months ago.
Widanagamage, separated from his wife, was living with his three children at the time of his death.
According to police records, he had been implicated in multiple criminal cases, including a 2014 house robbery in Middeniya, an extortion case involving death threats in Embilipitiya in 2019, robbing a jeep in Beliatta and three-wheeler in Weeraketiya. He had also been arrested in possession of a T-56 firearm and 30 live bullets in 2019 and was further accused of robbing a bus and stealing money from gambling establishments in 2021.
No suspects have been arrested in connection with the double homicide of Widanagamage and his daughter. However, five special police teams have been assigned to investigate the case, under the direct supervision of Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Kithsiri Jayalath and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Nishantha Soysa in the Southern Province.
