Ex-Inspector wanted over Weligama hotel shooting arrested on return to Sri Lanka

Former Inspector of Police (IP) Jagath Nishantha, who was wanted over the 2023 shooting incident near the W15 Hotel in Weligama and had fled overseas, was arrested yesterday upon returning to Sri Lanka, police said.

The Matara Magistrate’s Court had previously ordered the arrest of 8 former officers of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), including former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, and to name them as suspects in the shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel in the Pelena area of Weligama, Matara on December 31, 2023.

At the time of the court order, former IP Nishantha had already traveled abroad. As he had not returned to Sri Lanka since, the Police Department issued a formal notice considering him to have vacated his post. Additionally, the court had imposed an overseas travel ban on him.

Accordingly, following his return, former IP Nishantha was arrested yesterday and is scheduled to be produced before the Matara Magistrate’s Court today.

On December 31, 2023, a team of officers from the Colombo Crimes Division had traveled to the Weligama area in Matara allegedly with the intention of arresting a group of individuals associated with the notorious underworld figure Nadun Chinthaka Wickremeratne, alias ‘Harak Kata.’

According to police, officers in civilian attire were attacked from within the W15 Hotel in Weligama, prompting them to open fire in response. 

Subsequently, a mobile patrol vehicle from the Weligama Police Station arrived at the scene and opened fire on the van in which the CCD officers had arrived. 

This action was taken due to a misunderstanding, as the Weligama Police officers mistakenly believed that the van was transporting criminals.

As a result of the incident, the van left the location; however, by that time, two CCD officers inside had sustained gunshot wounds. 

One of the injured officers, 47-year-old Police Sergeant Upul Chaminda Kumara of the Colombo Crimes Division, later succumbed to his injuries while receiving medical treatment.