Ambalangoda shooting: Victim was a police informant

Police suspect that the shooting of a 45-year-old individual in Ambalangoda last night (14) had been carried out due to suspicions that he was informing authorities about illegal activities in the area.

The shooting had occurred at around 6:45 p.m. near a Buddha Shrine (Budu Madura) at Idamthota in Ambalangoda, when two unidentified individuals who arrived on a motorcycle opened fire. 

The victim, Krishantha Mendis, also known as ‘Podi Sudda’, was killed in the shooting.

According to police, the 45-year-old victim was a father of four and worked as a hired laborer in the area. 

Authorities confirmed that he had no criminal record and was known to have lived in the area  peacefully.

However, investigators suspect that the murder was orchestrated by the gang of Saman Priyantha, alias ‘Saman Kolla’, on the belief that the victim was providing information to the police regarding illegal activities in the area, police said.

Reports indicate that the victim had previously been assaulted by two members of Saman Kolla’s gang in January.

Police also recalled a similar incident on December 5, 2016, when a father, mother, and their four-year-old child were shot dead in the same Idamthota area—also allegedly by Saman Kolla’s gang members—under suspicion of being police informants.