The Magistrate of the Colombo Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court number 3 yesterday 7 ordered the police to produce the accused and witnesses in the killing of Pragash Nirmanandan and Ashoka Lakmal, who were brutally beaten and shot to death by the Kotahena police on March 14, before the court.

The police have informed the court that the accused and witnesses in connection with the double murder have not yet been identified. The magistrate was dismayed over the statement of the police, and said that the accused are within the police station. The suspects were arrested by the Grandpass police on February 20 night and were shot to death in the early hours of February 21. 

Lakmal and Nirmanandan have been arrested by the Grandpass Police on suspicion of shooting and killing Shashi Kumar, a mobile phone shop owner on at Street, and handed over to the Kotahena Police. Later, the Kotahena Police brutally assaulted the suspects and took them to show claiming to be allegedly hidden by the suspects and shot them to death citing the suspects tried to shoot the police from those hidden weapons. 

Police intelligence sources say that the suspects shot and killed Shashi Kumar for a Rs. 500,000 contract because Shashi Kumar was a member of Batuwatte Chamare’s faction, and that the murder was carried out as revenge for the murder of Ganemulla Sanjeewa who was shot to death recently inside the Magistrate Court. 

The Grandpass Police have informed the relatives of the deceased to appear in the court on the 27th of February. Again the police have informed them to come on 7 of March. When the relatives of the deceased called the Grandpass police on February 5 and inquired about the court date, they were told that they should not not appear on the 7. It appears the police have deliberately taken steps to prevent the relatives of the deceased from appearing in court.