Suspect arrested over murder of two police constables

A suspect involved in the killing of two police constables in Vavunathivu, Batticaloa has been arrested by the Kilinochchi police, Police Media Spokesperson said.

The arrested suspect, identified as 48-year-old Rasanayagam Sarvanandam, is a resident of Wattakachchi, Kilinochchi.

Two police constables attached to the Vavunathivu Police Station had been killed in execution style in the pre-dawn hours of Friday when they were on duty at a checkpoint in Vavunathivu. Their bodies were discovered by two other police officers when they went to relieve the murdered officers.

Sri Lanka Police chief Inspector General Pujith Jayasundara led a team of detectives to Vavunathivu to look into the progress of the investigations and provide advice.

The team, which included Director of Crimes Investigation Department (CID) Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ravi Seneviratne, and the Director of the Police Legal Department, Ruwan Gunasekara, met with police chiefs in the Batticaloa area to discuss the investigation.

IGP Jayasundera has handed over the investigation to the CID officers this afternoon. In addition to the CID, several other police teams carried out investigations into the killing.The bodies of the two police officers bore gunshot and cut wounds. Investigations have revealed that a T-56 weapon was used in the shooting.

One of the deceased policemen was identified as 35-year-old police constable Niroshan Indika Prasanna, a father of one, who was a resident of Udugama, Galle.

The other constable has been identified as 28-year-old named Ganesh Dinesh, a resident of the Periyanilawanai area of Kalmunai.

The IGP has posthumously promoted the two constables to the rank of Sergeant.