Dehiwela-Mt.Lavinia UNP MC shot dead

Rafik Jalaldeen

COLOMBO: Dehiwela- Mt.Lavinia Municipal Council Member Ariyaratna Silva (44) was shot dead at the Municipal Council Engineering and Employees Yard office at Attidiya road, Ratmalana yesterday morning, Mt.Lavinia District I SSP Arasaratnam said.

According to SSP Arasaratnam, the MC member had arrived at the Ratmalana MC workshop compound at 9.30 a.m yesterday. He had then entered the office where the MC labourers gather before being dispatched on duty errands.

"While he was calling from a clerk's phone a gunman stormed the office carrying a T56 and opened fire," the SSP told the Daily News. The suspect started firing indiscriminately with the T56 emptying six bullets into the MC who was killed on the spot.

"The suspect was wearing a helmet and a black jacket, though none of the employees was able to identify the assailant," the SSP added.

The SSP said the suspect who arrived in a motorcycle immediately fled the scene. The victim Ariyaratne.Silva was a UNP member and had been a councillor for several years. The motive of killing is not yet known but is suspected to be a personal dispute.

The Mt.Lavinia police are investigating.