The Sri Lanka police are known for their swift post-crime response, which however is selective in most cases. On Wednesday (19), they failed to protect an underworld character brought to the Colombo Magistrate’s court. Ganemulle Sanjeewa was shot while in the dock despite a heavy police presence at the court complex. Subsequently, he succumbed to his injuries in hospital. The assassin entered the courtroom, posing as a lawyer. In 2004, an underworld figure, Dhammika Amerasinghe was gunned down inside a courtroom at Hulftsdorp in a similar manner, and his killer was disguised as a law student. The police do not seem to learn from their lapses and blunders.
The NPP MPs never miss an opportunity to inveigh against their Opposition counterparts who were in previous governments that earned notoriety for using underworld gangs to do dirty work for them. The NPP is right in blaming the past governments for the rise of the underworld. Vilfredo Pareto has expounded the theory of the circulation of elites in power politics. In this country, regime changes lead to what may be called the circulation of underworld kingpins. This is how criminals such as Gonawala Sunil, Soththi Upali, Baddegana Sanjeweewa and Wambotta built crime syndicates under different governments.
Gonawala Sunil, a murderer serving a jail term for raping a teenage girl, was released from prison on a presidential pardon and used to unleash violence against the rivals of the UNP under President J. R. Jayewardene’s watch. Soththi Upali, a rapist and contract killer, became more powerful than the police, to all intents and purposes, under President’s Ranasinghe Premadasa’s government. He carried out a large number of attacks on the then Opposition with impunity. Beddegana Sanjeewa, a notorious killer, was appointed as a Reserve Police Inspector and recruited into the Presidential Security Division during President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s rule. Wambotta, a much-dreaded killer faithfully served President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government. All of them died violent deaths. There were countless other criminals working for powerful governments. One cannot but agree with the JVP-led NPP that the blame for the institutionalisation of political violence, and the rise of the underworld should be apportioned to the UNP, the SLFP, their coalition partners, and offshoots.
A part of the blame for the perpetuation of links between politicians and the underworld, and the culture of political violence should go to the public as well, for they have no qualms about voting for politicians with underworld connections. They have even elected some accused in murder cases to Parliament. It is said that the government you elect is the government you deserve. It may be people’s lenient attitude towards political violence that made them ignore the JVP’s violent past and vote the JVP-led NPP into power last year.
Making a special statement in Parliament, yesterday, Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ananda Wijepala said the police had arrested Ganemulle Sanjweea’s killer within eight hours of the incident. True, they did so, but that will not extenuate their failure to prevent a murder inside a courtroom. If it is true that the police arrested the murder suspect under their own steam, how come they failed to nab his female accomplice? She had not been arrested by yesterday evening.
Criminal gangs often squeal on one another either to remove their rivals from their path so as to dominate the underworld or to prevent the police from launching massive hunts when the perpetrators of high-profile crimes make good their escape. They often help the police make arrests for reasons of self-preservation. Perhaps, this is what happened after Wednesday’s courtroom killing.
Meanwhile, two policemen have been arrested in connection with the triple murder in Middeniya on Tuesday and the killing of Ganemulle Sanjeewa the following day. Another policeman who allegedly aided and abetted an abortive underworld operation to spring notorious criminal Harakkata free while being held at the CID headquarters, has been brought here from India, where he was arrested. A former Senior DIG has been sentenced to four years RI for having released a suspect arrested for the gang rape and murder of a schoolgirl, S. Vidya, in Pungudutivu in 2015, when he was serving in the North. A constable, who disappeared with his assault rifle has been arrested. There must be many more police personnel in league with criminals. Some military deserters and serving armed forces personnel have also been arrested for their underworld links. It has been revealed that Harakkata’s gang had hired several serving commandos to take part in their planned operation, which failed.
A country has its work cut out to rid itself of organised crime, when its politicians and rogue elements in the police and armed forces collude with the underworld, and the people vote for violent elements. So, the incumbent government should stop labouring under the delusion that the underworld can be neutralised in just months and double down on its efforts to achieve that end.
