Gang robbers in Balangoda

Rarely do we hear serious crime such as gang robbery and murder being reported from areas like Balangoda. The robbers shot dead a police officer and then got away after snatching his T-56 firearm while they were being taken into custody last Tuesday.

All this happened when Police Inspector Chaminda Lanka Abeyratne and a Police Constable arrested the four fleeing robbers travelling in a vehicle in the remote Pinnawela village in Balangoda. The incident happened on Tuesday morning around 2.30.am. An employee of the petrol filling station at Balangoda in a quivering voice phoned Inspector Abeyratne, OIC Crimes of the Balangoda police station, and described how four robbers broke into the petrol filling station in the wee hours of the morning and removed their safe containing cash.

He told the Inspector that two men carrying a plastic can came to the petrol filling station at Thumugoda and requested for petrol, because their Tri-Shaw had stalled on the way. A few minutes later four men travelling in a van arrived at the filling station. The men after disembarking from the vehicle stormed into their office and switched off the lights plunging the office room in darkness. The gang then threatened to shoot the two employees and ordered them to kneel down and remain calm. Under the cover of darkness the robbers carried away the iron safe containing cash, and drove off in the direction of Awissawella.

After the robbers disappeared an employee of the petrol filling station phoned the Balangoda police and informed them of what happened. Inspector Abeyratne who happened to be at the police station listened patiently to the man at the other end of the telephone and decided to act at once. The time was around 3.a.m. and there were only a few policemen at the police station. So Inspector Abeyratne went in search of the robbers with an armed police Constable escorting him on his motor cycle.

Little did he realise how dangerous his mission was. He wasn't aware that a notorious army deserter named Rohana was involved in the robbery. Rohana had been involved in a rape case earlier and several other criminal acts including a grenade throwing incident in the area. Service deserters who are a breed of criminals competent at handling modern firearms, have been involved in several robberies in the past.

Meanwhile Inspector Abeyratne and the Police Constable after patrolling the area for some time spotted a suspicious vehicle at Eeepanthawela village travelling from the opposite direction. The policemen stopped the vehicle and after questioning the four occupants took them into custody merely on suspicion.

While the policemen attempted to shove the four suspects into the back seat of the vehicle, they resisted arrest and grappled with the policemen. In the course of the struggle one of the suspects snatched the T-56 weapon from the Police Constable and shot at Inspector Abeyratne, who slumped to the ground. Thereafter the four member gang drove off in the vehicle with the robbed T-56 weapon.

The gang drove off for some distance and abandoned the vehicle at Denagama village fearing that they would be traced. Later a police party from Balangoda recovered the robbed vehicle. They also found the robbed safe of the petrol filling station at a lonely spot at Nellavilla.

Following the escape of the robbers several cordon and search operations were launched in the area on the instructions of DIG Sabaragamuwa police Neville Wijesinghe. The following day a police party from Balangoda police while attempting to arrest two suspects involved in the robbery shot them dead when they attempted to lob hand grenades at the police at Gurubavila village. The two suspects have been identified by the police as natives of Gurubavila.

DIG Sabaragamuwa Range, Neville Wijesinghe told the "Sunday Observer" that several police teams have been deployed in the Balangoda area to arrest the four suspects evading arrest. He said a large amount of cash would have been in the safe being the week end's collection. The deceased Inspector of Police, Chaminda Lanka Abeyratne is a 32 year old bachelor from Getahetta in Awissawela. He was to marry shortly when tragedy fell causing his untimely death.