Gunman in Akuregoda double murder arrested

One of the two gunmen who shot and killed a lawyer and his wife in the Akuregoda area of Thalangama has been arrested.

He was apprehended in the Ambalangoda area, and reports indicate that the suspect is a deserter from the military.

Preliminary investigations have also revealed that this suspect was the shooter who carried out the attack using a T-56 type firearm targeting the lawyer and his wife, while the second gunman used a pistol.

Lawyer Buddika Mallawa Arachchi and his wife, W. A. Nisansala, were shot dead inside their vehicle on February 13, 2026, at around 4:50 p.m. in the car park of a supermarket in the Akuregoda area, near the Defence Headquarters Complex, approximately 700 metres away.

Meanwhile, the individual who brought the gunman to a lodging house in Pannipitiya prior to the shooting has fled to Thailand.

Police say he is a resident of the Kahaduwa area and a close associate of the criminal known as “Karandeniya Sudda,” who is alleged to have orchestrated the murder.

Accordingly, Sri Lanka Police today (February 21) took into custody the vehicle used to transport the gunman, as well as the rented vehicle the suspect used to travel to Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake before leaving the country.