The jailed organised crime figure known as ‘Backhoe Saman’ has refused to attend his mother’s funeral to pay his final respects, prison sources told Ada Derana and Hiru News on Friday.
No reason for the decision has been disclosed. Both outlets attributed the account to prison sources rather than to an official statement, and Ada Derana carried its headline with a question mark.
The man, named by police as Nirmala Prasanga, is serving time in custody. Ada Derana placed him at the Welisara high-security prison — a shift from its own report on Thursday, which said he was held at Boossa. He was among nine high-risk inmates moved earlier this year to the Welisara facility, set up for prisoners accused of running criminal networks from behind bars.
A threat the victim ignored
The reports carried one new detail about the killing. Police suspect the figure known as ‘Karandeniya Sudda’ had previously threatened Prasanga’s mother, warning her not to visit the prison to check on her son’s wellbeing. She disregarded the warning and continued to visit him, and investigators now believe that was among the reasons she was killed.
Her death is being treated as retaliation for the murder of another organised crime figure, ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’, with police suspecting ‘Karandeniya Sudda’ — believed to be hiding overseas — orchestrated the attack.
The killing
The woman was shot outside a house at Ulhitiyawa in Middeniya on August 12 and died of her injuries. Friday’s reports described a single unidentified gunman; earlier accounts from police said two men arrived on a motorcycle, opened fire and fled. The motorcycle was later recovered abandoned near Urubokka.
Hiru News placed the shooting on the night of the 12th. Reporting on the timing has varied since the attack, with the Daily Mirror initially putting it in the afternoon.
No arrests have been announced. Investigations are continuing.
