By Nirmala Kannangara
The four police investigating teams
probing into the murder of The Sunday
Leader Editor-in-Chief Lasantha
Wickrematunge have so far failed to make
a breakthrough, The Sunday Leader
learns.
Wickrematunge was assassinated a
month ago on January 8 morning in front
of several witnesses in the high
security zone in close proximity to the
Air Port and the Air Force Base at
Ratmalana.
Subsequent to the assassination, four
police teams were appointed to conduct
the investigation and for the past one
month two suspects believed to have had
a link to the murder were taken into
custody by the Mt. Lavinia police
together with Wickrematunge’s mobile
phone that went missing from the Colombo
South Teaching Hospital.
Meanwhile, Police Spokesperson SSP
Ranjith Gunasekera told The Sunday
Leader sister paper The Morning
Leader a fortnight ago that the
Government Analyst’s (GA) report would
be ready in two days as it would be
vital to conduct the investigation
accurately.
"We have informed the Government
Analyst that we want the report urgently
and we were told that it would be sent
within two to three days," Gunasekera
said.
However, Gunasekera on Friday told
The Sunday Leader that he did not
know whether the police have received
the GA’s report and said that he knew
nothing about the latest details of the
investigation.
When asked as to how the police could
claim that the suspect who was taken
into custody together with
Wickrematunge’s mobile was connectedto
the murder, as the mobile went missing
from the hospital and not from the scene
where Wickrematunge was attacked,
Gunasekera said that he had no idea to
comment on it.
"I do not know about these as the
investigating teams do not update me as
it would hamper their investigations.
What I know is that two suspects were
taken in together with the mobile phone
and the investigating teams are
conducting further inquests in to the
assassination," Gunasekera said.
Meanwhile, Wickrematunge’s murder
case that was taken up at the Mt.
Lavinia Magistrate on Thursday (5) is to
be taken up on February 19.
