Former PS chairman and 17 others sentenced to death for murder of estate manager

The courts yesterday sentenced 18 people including the former chairman of a local government to death for the 2013 murder of an estate manager in Deraniyagala.

The Avissawella High Court sentenced to death the former Deraniyagala Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Anil Champika Wijesinghe and 17 others, for the murder of the superintendent of the Nooriya Tea Estate in Deraniyagala.

The superintendent of the tea estate, Nihal Perera, 71, was hacked to death on 05 July 2013 by a group of people who had arrived in an SUV.

The suspects were believed to be members of an underworld gang that has terrorized the area for some time. The then ruling party politician was reportedly the leader of the gang. They were reportedly against the measures taken by the estate manger to curtail corruption and wastage.

Walters Bay, a Texas-based American company was managing the tea estate at the time of the killing.