Former Boossa High Security Prison Superintendent, Siri Dath Dhammika, was murdered this evening (13th). He is believed to be the highest-ranking prison officer ever to be assassinated in Sri Lanka.
A large-scale operation has been launched in the area to track down the killers, with security tightened and roadblocks set up.
Siridath Dhammika, 61, was tending to his garden in front of his home in Ihalagoda, Akmeemana when two men on a motorcycle approached and shot him with a 9mm firearm. He was critically injured and rushed to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle via a 1990 ambulance. However, hospital police confirmed that he was already dead upon arrival.
The retired prison superintendent was a father of one. Previously, a building materials shop allegedly belonging to him was set on fire and destroyed. The motive behind his murder remains unknown, and investigations are underway by the Akmeemana police.
Sources revealed that while serving as Assistant Superintendent of Boossa Prison, Siridath Dhammika had received death threats from underworld figure Podi Lassie, who is currently out on bail.
