SPOTLIGHT

• Greenlight from AG's Dept. to investigate

Thug spills the beans on underworld ring

By Frederica Jansz

Following a sensational confession made by an underworld figure the Attorney General's Department has directed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to carry out further investigations to corroborate statements in the confession which have implicated Sri Lanka Cricket Chief and Sri Lanka Telecom Chairman, Thilanga Sumathipala as well as members of the Presidential Security Division (PSD).

In his confession made before the Gangodawila magistrate, Pradeep Hettiaarachchi on Friday, September 19, Bada Mahinda has implicated Thilanga Sumathipala as having contracted underworld figures.He has also implicated members of the Presidential Security Division (PSD) who he states were part of certain murders committed together with Baddegana Sanjeewa who was also at the time a member of the PSD.

Bada Mahinda's alarming confession has linked the deadly ring of an underworld gang who having subsequently fallen out with each other began picking off one another  with precision. The infamous Moratu Saman, a key suspect in the Kumar Ponnambalam murder as well as Baddegana Sanjeewa, one time member of the PSD have all been linked to underworld kingpin Dhammika Amarasinghe alias Perera by Bada Mahinda in his confession.Both Moratu Saman and Baddegana Sanjeewa were subsequently murdered. According to Bada Mahinda's confession Baddegana Sanjeewa was killed by Dhammika and another underworld figure known as 'Gala' alias Udaya Kumara.

Lack of evidence

Gala was subsequently arrested by, the Peliyagoda police on suspicion of another killing.Gala however had at the time also confessed to the murder of Baddegana Sanjeewa. Amazingly though, senior cops at the Peliyagoda police station did nothing further to pursue the matter and Gala was released due to a lack of evidence for another murder he had been arrested for. It is believed that he later sought safety by fleeing to the United Kingdom.

In his confession Bada Mahinda maintains that after the murder of Baddegana Sanjeewa, the killers staked a one and a half month hide out at a two storied house in Dehiwela which he says, he believes is owned by Sumathipala.

Bada Mahinda's confession to the magistrate was made in an atmosphere of fear, following repeated death threats to him and his family that he would be killed inside prison if he dared to talk.

In his statement before the Gangodawila Magistrate, Bada Mahinda has pleaded for more security stressing on the fact that he has been threatened with death by Dhammika, who is also in remand prison. Dhammika's death threats to Bada Mahinda have been made in the presence of jailors.

The pint sized but feared underworld thug has threatened to murder Bada Mahinda in prison if he dares confess gory details of assassinations and assassination attempts committed by the vicious gang.

Mahinda  has said in his confession that in front of Jailor Wimalarathne, Dhammika had threatened him saying in Sinhalese, "if you dare to open your mouth, I will kill you while you are inside prison." He states that Dhammika threatened him in the same manner twice when they were both produced on the same day at the Aluthkade Magistrate's Court.

In his confession Bada Mahinda has stated that through "friends" who visit him in prison he has been sent messages not to say anything against Thilanga Sumathipala and Dhammika.He says he has been given messages where a sum of money amounting to Rs. 5 million  has been offered to buy his silence.

Despite the Magistrate repeatedly telling Bada Mahinda that his confession will not buy him his freedom or an unconditional pardon, Bada Mahinda had insisted he wished to make the confession.

Having been taken to the Magistrate's Court for the third time on Friday 19, at 9.30 a.m., Bada Mahinda was in a state of nervous tension by the time the Magistrate began recording his confession late afternoon that day.

Dhammika was also produced in the Gangodawila Magistrate's Court the same day and the two one time school mates, linked as they had been in deadly games of murder and vice, had to be kept apart and watched by nearly two dozen policemen.

Magistrate Pradeep Hettiaarachchi following the guidelines of the law in such cases repeatedly questioned Bada Mahinda asking him if he is certain he wants to make this confession. Bada Mahinda by the time he began making his statement was sweating with apprehension, unused to the strict guidelines of the law, he remained terrified of the consequences, convinced his decision to spill the beans will take him one step closer to a bloody end. (See box for Magistrate's questions)

In his confession Bada Mahinda has stated that following a shooting atthe home of Editor in Chief, The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge, underworld thug Dhammika used his mobile telephone to call someone and said, "Thilanga boss, vade hari ( Thilanga boss, the job is done)."

The second reference to Sumathipala in Bada Mahinda's confession is  where he has said that after the killing of Baddegana Sanjeewa the underworld gang hid for a period of one and a half months at a house in Dehiwela. He says he too was forced to stay at this house where a "businessman" visited the house once a week with food and drinks including bottles of brandy purchased from Cargills  Food City supermarkets. He says the man used to arrive in a white Townace type van.

According to Bada Mahinda's confession, Dhammika used to order him (Bada Mahinda) to stay inside a bedroom and not come out until the mystery visitor left. Bada Mahinda however asserts in his confession that he one day peeped from his room to get a look at this man and perceived that he looked like a well to do businessman. 

Thereafter, he says one morning he had been walking on the lawn outside the two storied house when he came across an electricity bill left on the gate.

Taking the bill he studied it and saw it was in the name of "Sumathipala." Bada Mahinda says Dhammika had seen him with the bill and snatched it from his hand demanding to know if he had read it.Bada Mahinda says he denied having read it, after which Dhammika had folded the electricity bill and gone into the house. 

Bada Mahinda has stated that he was allowed to leave this house only three times during the entire one and a half months they stayed there.When he was finally allowed to go home, Bada Mahinda says they were all threatened by Dhammika that if any details of Baddegana Sanjeewa's murder were leaked, the same fate would befall them.

The third reference to Thilanga Sumathipala in the confession is where Bada Mahinda has stated before the Magistrate that he has been approached while in prison by various "messengers" to not say anything against Thilanga Sumathipala or Dhammika Amarasinghe.

The Sri Lanka Cricket President and Chief of SLT meantime was in panic mode last Sunday. Following revelations in this newspaper, Sumathipala lobbied government ministers, influential businessmen he perceives to be 'close' to the Premier and even media personnel, professing his innocence and claiming that he is being framed by Gamini Abeyratne, the executive director of  Airport & Aviation Services Ltd.

The whole saga unfolded after a CID investigation was launched following allegations that Sumathipala had  given  a  contract  to  Dhammika to kill  Abeyratne, a close confidant of UNP Chairman, Malik Samarawickrama.

Less than half an hour after Bada Mahinda had completed making his confession on Friday the 19th, Sumathipala amazingly was aware of the details of what Banda Mahinda had told the Magistrate.

Bada Mahinda completed making his confession at approximately 7.15 p.m. on the 19th evening. By 8 p.m. that same day Sumthipala telephoned a well known personality and had said, "I have not been implicated - only in two instances has Bada Mahinda made vague references to me."

This statement Sumathipala continued to utter throughout last week even meeting at the witching hour with key government ministers professing his innocence and reiterating that the Premier had told him "not to worry - there is no problem."

However The Sunday Leader has learned that the Premier avoided no less than four telephone calls Sumathipala made to him while he was in transit in London on his way to New York.

Bulletproof car

As the drama unfolded Thilanga Sumathipala has begun travelling in a bulletproof car protected by officers from the Ministerial Security Division, including motorcycle outriders.

Bada Mahinda meantime in his confession maintains that he prepared to go overseas twice. On both occasions he claims he was prevented from doing so by Dhammika.He says Dhammika stressed upon him the importance of staying back in order to assassinate Gamini Abeyratne. In his confession Bada Mahinda says that todate, "disciples" of Dhammika are still planning an attempt on the life of Abeyratne.

He says that on one occasion they watched Abeyratne's house which is situated near the offices of TNL Radio at Colpetty. He says he was asked to get the number plate details of the car in which Abeyratne drove.In his confession he says he watched the house for two hours, told a lie to Dhammika and came away.

In other gory revelations Bada Mahinda has detailed various other assassinations committed by the underworld gang led by Dhammika. In his confession he says last year, he cannot recall the month, he was ordered by Dhammika to go to Battaramulla, to the house of one "Padmasiri" and collect a vehicle. When he went he says people in the house handed him the keys to a red colour double cab.

Driving this vehicle he says he drove to the timber store at Kotte and handed over the vehicle to one Dias before going home. Two or three weeks later he received another order to come to Pitakotte junction. He says he arrived at the junction at around 9.30 a.m. where he saw the red double cab parked.He states that Dhammika and 'Jackpot Chaminda' were by the cab. 

Later another underworld figure called "Chuti" also joined them he says. At around 10 a.m. someone he states  spoke to Dhammika on his mobile telephone after which Dhammika ordered them all to get into the red double cab and Chuti drove the vehicle to a location near the Dehiwela zoo.After a while Dhammika ordered the vehicle to be driven and parked near the Dehiwela Municipal Council. 

Once more, Bada Mahinda says someone spoke to Dhammika on his mobile phone and said, "thama nehe." (still no sign).At around 11.30 a.m Bada Mahinda says they received another telephone call. Thereafter Dhammika had ordered Chuti who was driving the vehicle to get into the back seat and told Bada Mahinda to get into the driving seat.According to Bada Mahinda this was done because Chuti is not such a good driver. At around 11.45 a.m. Dhammika had ordered Bada Mahinda to drive the vehicle onto the Galle Road, turn right and get in front of a white car that had tinted glass windows.

While giving orders to Bada Mahinda, Dhammika had told Jackpot Chaminda "araka gannin" (take that out).

Jackpot Chaminda had then taken out a T56 gun wrapped in a sheet. Ordering Bada Mahinda to stop the vehicle, Dhammika then ordered Jackpot Chaminda to get down saying, "aruta gahapan" (hit him). Bada Mahinda claims in his confession that after he stopped the double cab, Jackpot Chaminda got down, walked upto the white car and shot at the man driving the vehicle.

Dhammika had thereafter told him "quickly, quickly, let's go, let's go." He says he drove the vehicle through Kohuwela to Nugegoda and then arrived at Pitakotte. Bada Mahinda had then asked Dhammika why he shot at that man to which the latter had replied, "he is the one who gave the contract to kill my brother Chinthaka."

Threatened with death

Arriving at Pitakotte, Bada Mahinda says they hid the vehicle and then Dhammika took him behind the timber store and threatened him and warned him saying "only you, Chaminda and Chuti know about this. So if anything is revealed it will be one of you and I am warning you all not to talk.You know me and what I can do."

Bada Mahinda has told the CID that the man they killed that day at Dehiwela was one Thotalanga Harrison Chandrasiri. He was shot dead while driving his car on January 19, 2002. Dhammika was certain that Harrison, a drug baron, financed another underworld figure, Kalu Ajit to kill his brother Chintaka Amarasinghe.

Bada Mahinda says that soon after this killing he was arrested for being found in possession of weapons. After his arrest he says his family at home received telephone calls warning them that if Bada Mahinda opened his mouth they would all be killed, including his child.

Hearing that Bada Mahinda planned to make a confession before a magistrate, he has said that his wife received a telephone call from Dhammika from his mobile phone, while in prison, where he threatened her and her son with death and threatening to burn down their house as well if Bada Mahinda dared to spill the beans. His wife Damayanthi has made a complaint in this regard to the Mirihana police and to the CID.

Other bloody and disgusting details of various assassinations carried out by the underworld gang revealed in Bada Mahinda's confession states that Dhammika hunted down the killers of his brother Chintaka who was killed at Thotalanga by underworld figures called Kalu Ajit, Chutta and Victor in 1998.

Dhammika later killed Chutta at IDH. At the time he was accompanied by Moratu Saman, his cousin Thajit, Tharawatte Ajit - who is the main accused in the killing of Satana Editor Rohana Kumara - Jackpot Chaminda, Bada Mahinda, Baddegana Sanjeewa and three other unnamed officers from the PSD.

Chutta was killed at a restaurant in IDH while in the company of one Tuwan who was also shot dead in the shoot out.Both bodies were taken by Dhammika to an isolated area close to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital where Jackpot Chaminda according to Bada Mahinda cut the neck of Chutta.

Thereafter Dhammika had shot the decapitated head four or five times in a rage. Covering the dismembered bodies with floor carpets from the van, Bada Mahinda says the killer gang then set fire to the bodies.

Mahinda says in his confession that Dhammika has thereafter told him that he took the dismembered head of Chutta and deposited it at the same site where his brother Chinthaka was murdered at Thotalanga.

Bada Mahinda says that a day after this brutal slaughter, Dhammika had come to his house and threatened him warning him that he must not ever reveal any details of this double murder. "Because I was frightened of him - I promised," Bada Mahinda has said in his confession.

The confession details other murders committed by the gang where Bada Mahinda says that an unused garage at Hokandara was used by the underworld gang to park the various vehicles they used for killings as well as to store and clean weapons.

Triple murder

A Pradeshiya Sabha member for Kaduwela by the name of one Janak has also been named by Bada Mahinda when recounting details of an assassination of three other members of the underworld at Kaduwela.

Bada Mahinda in his confession maintains that he received specific instructions from Dhammika to come to the Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha member's house on the day of the triple murder. He says that when he arrived at the house, Jackpot Chaminda was there carrying a T56 weapon. He claims that Moratu Saman was also there carrying a pistol and Dhammika too had a pistol in his hand while another underworld figure called Lanka had also been present.

The triple murder was carried out successfully but according to Bada Mahinda's confession, Dhammika had warned him not to say anything about the killing to Baddegana Sanjeewa.

Bada Mahinda has also stated to the Magistrate that the night before he was scheduled to make this confession, a gang had arrived at his home in Kotte and banged repeatedly on his front gate, shouting for his wife to open the locked gate. His wife he says remained inside and did not come out. He ends his confession by appealing to the Magistrate for more security.

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