A hand grenade was thrown at a house on Leslie Ranagala Mawatha in Borella early on Sunday morning but failed to detonate, police said. No injuries have been reported.
The Daily Mirror placed the targeted property at 141 Watta on the same road and said the residence is linked to an associate of the organised crime figure Kavishka Madushan Abeywickrama, known as “Wanathe Chathu”, who was arrested in Dubai. Police described the incident as an apparent attack arising from a dispute between organised criminal groups.
CCTV captured a motorcyclist
Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror both reported that CCTV footage from a camera near the scene captured a person arriving at the location on a motorcycle and throwing the grenade at the house before fleeing.
Police have begun an investigation and are examining the footage and other available evidence to identify the suspect. Security has been strengthened in the surrounding area.
Hiru News framed the incident differently, reporting that police recovered a live grenade that had been left in front of the house and that the Borella Police had begun further inquiries. Its account, attributed to the Police Media Division, does not describe the device as having been thrown. All three outlets agree that the grenade was live and that it did not explode.
Timing alongside a pending deportation
The reference to Wanathe Chathu connects the attack to a case already in progress. NewsFirst reported on Saturday that he and Lalith Kannangara, known as “Bus Lalith”, were due to be deported from Dubai, with the two newsrooms giving different arrival days — NewsFirst naming 24 August and the Daily Mirror indicating 23 August. Wanathe Chathu has been described by police as a close associate of the organised crime figure Kanjipani Imran.
Part of a wider pattern
Ada Derana reported that security authorities have raised concerns about an emerging trend of grenade attacks tied to disputes among organised criminal groups.
The report pointed to a comparable incident on Sri Gnanendra Mawatha in Ratmalana, where a house was targeted and one of the grenades did explode. That case produced a series of arrests, with four suspects held on August 9 after six were arrested days earlier.
Police are continuing investigations to establish the motive for the Borella attack and whether it is connected to ongoing conflicts between criminal groups. No arrests had been announced as of Sunday afternoon.
