By-Shantha wijesooriya

On 7.11.2024 Colombo additional Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake rejected Madush’s wife’s request to hand over the investigation into the death of Samarasinghe Arachchi’s Lakshita Madush alias Makandure Madush, who was shot dead while in the custody of the Colombo Crime Division.

The Magistrate said that if there is no consensus about the investigations of the Maligawatta Police regarding the death of the deceased, the complaint can be made to the Inspector General of Police or the Senior Inspector General of Police in charge of the Western Province. He pointed out that there is no provision for the Magistrate to refer the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department as per the circular of the Judicial Service Commission.

The Magistrate said that if the Magistrate decides, the investigations can be handed over to another police but that there is no provision in the circular issued by the Judicial Service Commission to hand over investigations from one police to another police at the request of another party.

The Magistrate pointed out that the post-mortem examination of the deceased named Madush had been conducted and a verdict had been given and ordered the Maligawatta Police to present the verdict given by the court on the further progress of the investigation to the court on December 5.

The magistrate issued an order after considering the motion made by Makandure Madush’s wife Gayani Muthumali through lawyers. The case No. 43716/4/2022 filed under Magistrate Court No. 04, Aluthkade, Colombo was closed  but tthe case was taken on 7 November again through a motion. 

“Lord, Makandure Madush was arrested on 5 April 2019.  Lawyer Senaka Perera said that he was arrested by Dubai Police and handed over to our local security forces. He was kept under the Criminal Investigation Department for more than a year and a half and after investigations he was handed over to the Colombo Crime Division. Two days later he was shot and killed by two unknown armed gunmen inside Maligawatta Apelwatta Sandakirana Flats”

The whole world knew that Madush was in the custody of the police and that the Colombo Crime Division gave Madush a mobile call and  made someone to inform him to come to Maligawatta Applewatte Sandakirana flats to get drugs.

On October 20, 2020, at 3 am, officers of the Colombo Crime Division took Madush to the  Applewatta flats.  Lawyer Perera said that the entire incident took 17 minutes and said that this murder raises serious doubts as to why the suspect was not taken to the Applewatte flats without confirming the the security of Madush around the vicinity of the flats. 

Serious doubts are being raised how Madush was shot and killed while Madush was in the custody of the armed officers of the Colombo Crime Division. Lawyer Perera pointed out that the police did not arrest the suspects who shot Madush and fled. He made a request to the Magistrate on behalf of the aggrieved party to hand over the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department as they could not reach a consensus regarding the investigations being carried out by the Maligawatta Police.

Translated by Azgar