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| Sunday, 8 February 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Number of top gangsters on the decline Crime Sunday by JAYAMPATHY JAYASINGHE The war among underworld gangs, which erupted last year in the suburbs of Colombo, have now spilled over to the Metropolis with ruthless gangs liquidating their rivals with impunity. The police however will heave a sigh of relief as the number of top gangsters wanted for several murders in the city is gradually receding. Around 11.30am last Friday, Priyankara, an underworld figure from Borella, who was returning home after serving a prison sentence, was shot dead near the colour lights at Darley Road Maradana, almost opposite the Fire Brigade. He was travelling in a double cab with three others when a rival gang who had followed them in a car and a van had opened fire with two T-56 weapons and got away. Later the assailants had gone to Magazine Road, Borella, where the deceased had lived, and had fired three shots into the air as if to celebrate the assassination and had escaped, leaving the van close by. Priyankara, it was learnt, had killed four people on an earlier occasion to avenge the killing of his brother by a rival gang. Subsequently, on information received by Director Colombo Crime Division (CCD) SSP Sarath Lugoda, a team of policemen rushed to Wellampitiya and managed to recover the car which had been abandoned near a house. The police found the keys of the car hidden under a tyre. SSP Lugoda said they were aware of the identity of the killers and a team has been deployed to arrest them. In another related incident last week, a raid carried out by the CCD arrested Aruna, alias Aruna Chutti, a gangster also known as Robinhood among the common folk at Kalinga Place, Kirulapone due to his generosity. He was captured with seven of his buddies, plotting to kill a rival gang member, who had posed a threat to their activities. The police also arrested Aruna's cousin, a ruggerite from a Colombo school, an Air Force deserter and several of their friends who had been enjoying a drink at Chutti's residence around 4.00pm. They had been hatching a plot to kill a rival from Nawala Nihal's gang in Kirulapone. The rival gang member, who had earlier been with Moratuwa Saman, had switched allegiances to Nawala Nihal after the former was shot dead in Moratuwa. The Air Force deserter was handed over to Air Force authorities for further interrogation. The Police team also recovered a 9mm automatic pistol with eight rounds of ammunition and a T-56 automatic weapon with two magazines loaded with 56 rounds of ammunition. The T-56 was folded and hidden underneath the shirt of Chutti's cousin. "Some of these gang members were wanted in connection with their involvement in three murders," SSP Lugoda said. He said efforts are being made to arrest an Army deserter who had sold the 9mm service pistol with the ammunition to Aruna Chutti's gang. Investigations have revealed that the deserter had left the country months ago. The other gang members are also being questioned on how they came to possess the T-56 weapon with ammunition. "We want to ascertain whether the T-56 weapon and the ammunition had been stolen from armed services or the police," he said. However, despite Aruna Chutti's involvement in underworld activities, he was not an Island Reconvicted Criminal due to reluctance of witnesses to testify against him due to fear of reprisals. Chutti eked out a living on the interest from loans he gave others. He often intervened to settle disputes among underworld gangs, which earned him respect. Police said four of the seven suspects were bailed out as they had nothing to do with the conspiracy to murder a rival. However Chutti, his cousin and the ruggerite were remanded pending completion of investigations. This is not the first occasion where dangerous gangs have been arrested and arms recovered. Sophisticated weapons seem to be proliferating among underworld members. A few months ago, a nine-member gang involved in several murders and robberies in the South and Western Province were arrested by the CCD. They were found in a house at Piliyandala with two foreign-made pistols, four shot guns and several rounds of ammunition. The gang had been operating for nearly six months from this house. An armed service deserter was also rounded up. The gang was responsible for robbing valuables from several couples at the Dehiwela, Wellawatte, Bambalapitiya and Kollupitiya beaches. Several years ago, a cache of arms including a T-56 automatic rifle, two 9mm Browning pistols, three hand grenades and an S-84 automatic rifle with several rounds of ammunition were recovered following the arrest of 16 underworld figures operating in the Maligawatte area. Nugegoda Police also arrested eight suspects involved in a Rs 5.6 million heist from a Talangama bank. Police recovered an automatic 9mm pistol with five rounds of ammunition, a repeater shot with 10 cartridges, a T-56 automatic weapon with 137 rounds of ammunition and a Rambo knife used in the robbery. Police said they were investigating whether the T-56 automatic weapon used in the robbery had belonged to a politician from the South. |
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