Breaking News, News

Weligama PS chairman shot dead inside his office

22 Oct, 2025

Feature Image

A Sri Lankan opposition politician was shot dead in his office on Wednesday, police said, the latest in a wave of assassinations and the first to target a political figure.

Lasantha Wickramasekara, 38, the council chairman of the coastal city of Weligama, was meeting with constituents when a gunman burst in and fired multiple times with a revolver.

No one else was wounded, and the gunman fled the scene.

"An investigation is underway to track down the killer," police said in a statement, adding that the motive for the attack remains unclear.

Wickramasekara was a member of the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, which has been locked in a bitter power struggle with the ruling party over control of the Weligama council.

Sri Lanka has seen a surge in violent crime this year, much of it linked to drug gangs and organised crime.

Official figures show at least 50 people have been killed in more than 100 shootings.

This marks the first assassination of a politician since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government came to power last year, pledging to restore law and order.

The most brazen attack was in February when a gunman dressed as a lawyer shot dead a suspect inside a courthouse in Colombo. (Economic Times)

Recommended For You

Feature Image

Dayasiri summoned again by PSC after failing to appear

Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekera was today summoned again by the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) after he failed to appear. Jayasekera was summoned to appear before the PSC today but he failed to appear when his name was called. He had told Parliament earlier that he will not appear before the PSC despite being summoned. The PSC today said that Jayasekera will be given notice again to appear on a later date.

28 Jun, 2019

Feature Image

UK warns Sri Lanka of consequences if death penalty implemented

The United Kingdom has warned Sri Lanka of the consequences if the death penalty is implemented. The UK Foreign Office said that implementation of the death penalty will inevitably make it more difficult for the UK to cooperate with Sri Lanka on law enforcement issues, including on counter terrorism, and will require the UK to review technical assistance programmes on relevant policing, defence and other security issues. President Maithripala Sirisena had said yesterday that four convicts on d

27 Jun, 2019

Feature Image

Norway warns Sri Lanka against implementing death penalty

Norway is deeply concerned that Sri Lanka intends to implement the death penalty, which would put an end to Sri Lanka?s 43-year moratorium on the use of this cruel and irreversible punishment. As recently as December 2018, Sri Lanka was one of 120 countries that voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The vote was a tangible sign of the global trend to move away from the use of the death penalty. Implementation of the death

29 Jun, 2019