Fatal shots kill OIC

Things happen fast on November 2:

Inspector Sudesh Prassanna Pathiratne (36) OIC Crimes of the harbour police was a task master who entertained no nonsense when it came to fighting crime in the northern province or in the south.

He worked around the clock while he was attached to the Harbour police during the past three years. While serving in Jaffna he had encountered life threatening situations on numerous occasions his colleagues say.

The experience he gathered while serving in the northern terrain had made him a daring and a bold but reckless officer when it came to his own safety. He cared less about his own security when dealing with underworld criminals.

After finishing a stint in the northern province, Inspector Pathirathna was transferred to Colombo and was later posted as OIC Crimes of the Harbour police station where he worked tirelessly to combat crime.

Although working at the Harbour police station does not look so perilous like working in the North, it could be assumed that Harbour Police station too was a dangerous outpost.

This was because of smuggling operations carried out by international smugglers where contraband items, heroin, armaments and other illegal stuff pass through like in any other international port in the world.

So it could be assumed that Inspector Pathiratne in his capacity as OIC Crimes of the Harbour police had made enemies with the underworld gangs by not colluding with their smuggling operations.

Otherwise who could have killed an innocent man unless it was the work of the LTTE's pistol gang who vouched to finish him off to avenge an act done while was stationed in Jaffna. DIG Colombo Nimal Mediweka when contacted said that they were keeping an open mind until investigations were completed.

He said around six police teams have been detailed to track down the killer who escaped after the shooting. Although he was tight lipped about not revealing anything that could jeopardise the on going investigations, he said several persons have been questioned with regard to the shooting and a break through was expected.

Things happened so fast on 2 November. Inspector Pathiratne after attending to some official work was returning home in his vehicle. He was a resident of Meegahawatte. He had driven up to Kotahena that day to purchase some goods from a Super Market.

So he parked his car at George R. De Silva Mawatha and was seen by some persons talking to some unidentified persons.

A man who was standing near a lottery booth close by had seen the unidentified killer running away after firing a few shots at Inspector Pathiratne who was about to get into his car. The shooting took place around 9.45 p.m. that day.

Although the killer was wearing a helmet, there was no motor cycle parked close by. The man who had seen the killer running away had not seen how he escaped. No one saw whether he escaped on a motor cycle or in a car. Most probably he got away in a vehicle parked away from the scene of the crime, police said.

The Inspector slumped on the road after the assailant fired a shot to his body from behind and three more shots fired on his legs. Police said that a 9 mm pistol was used in the shooting. Several people in the vicinity who heard the shooting rushed to the spot where Inspector Pathiratne lay on the ground and rushed him to the Colombo National Hospital.

Doctors battled to save his life but he succumbed to his injuries after undergoing emergency surgery at the Colombo National Hospital in the wee hours of the morning.

Inspector Pathiratne was a native of Galle. He was educated at Galle and later at Gampaha. He joined the Police Department as a probationary Sub Inspector of police in 1995 and had served in difficult areas like Jaffna, Kabithigollawea, Kahatagasdegiliya, Galenbidunuwewa before moving over to Colombo.

He had served at the Colombo Harbour Police for about three years. Inspector Pathiratne was a married man with a seven year old son. He was the eldest son of a deceased police officer.

He and his wife and son lived in a rented out house at Megahawatte. Last year a somewhat similar thing happened when Inspector Douglas Nihal and his wife were shot dead in the Athurugiriya area while they were on their way to Colombo in their vehicle.

Police apparently had traced the suspects involved in the complicity of the murder. It seems that the law and order situation has taken a nose dive with criminals arming themselves with firearms.

There is a proliferation of firearms in the country. It is revealed that there are around 30,000 armed service deserters roaming about in the country.

These men with firearms in their possession have joined the underworld ranks to commit serious crimes. Although several attempts were made earlier to apprehend them, the operation was a complete failure.

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