The younger brother of the organised crime figure known as “Loku Patty” was shot dead near his home in Ahungalla on Thursday evening, police said.
The victim was named by the Daily Mirror as Lanthuwahandhi Sugath Nuwan Kumara de Silva, aged 35. He was shot at about 8.10 p.m. with a 9mm pistol by an unidentified gunman, the paper reported, and police confirmed he was the brother of the man known as “Loku Patty”.
He was admitted to Balapitiya Hospital and died of his injuries, according to Hiru News. Ahungalla Police are investigating. No arrest has been reported and no motive has been released.
The reports differ on where and when
The three accounts filed within about ten minutes of each other on Thursday night do not fully agree.
- Location. The Daily Mirror and Newswire both place the shooting in the Welikanda area of Ahungalla. Hiru says it happened at Pathirajagama, Ahungalla. Both are localities within the same coastal area of the Galle district; neither outlet mentions the other name.
- Time. The Daily Mirror gives a specific time of around 8.10 p.m. and calls it “this evening”. Hiru describes the shooting as having been carried out “this afternoon”.
- Outcome. Newswire’s filing, timed a few minutes after the other two, reported the victim as seriously injured and hospitalised rather than dead. On the sequence the other two outlets describe — shot near his home, taken to Balapitiya Hospital, died there — Newswire’s account appears to reflect the position before his death was confirmed.
Who “Loku Patty” is
“Loku Patty” is the alias of Lanthuwahandi Sujeewa Ruwan Kumara de Silva, who was extradited to Sri Lanka on 4 May and is named as the main suspect in the 2024 killing of “Club Wasantha” in Athurugiriya. The two men share the same family name, independently consistent with the relationship police have stated.
In September the Illegal Assets Investigation Division froze about Rs. 35 million in property linked to him — a 15-perch plot and a two-storey house at Welipenna — under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The second fatal attack in the area in five days
Thursday’s killing follows a shooting at Halpathota, Baddegama, also in the Galle district, on Sunday 27 September, in which three people were killed. Police linked that attack to rivalry between organised crime factions and said it was carried out by followers of Sobana Handi Jayalath de Silva, alias “Karandeniye Sudda”, described as a foreign-based organised crime figure and drug trafficker. Our report at the time noted that one of those killed was connected to a faction linked to “Loku Patty”. A fourth suspect was arrested in that case on 30 September.
Police have not publicly connected Thursday’s shooting to the Baddegama attack or to any faction.
An earlier attempt on a brother
On 17 April this year, gunmen opened fire on a three-wheeler carrying a man known as “Podi Patty” near the Lokaswatta cemetery in Ahungalla. Police identified that target at the time as a brother of “Loku Patty”, and he was not injured.
None of Thursday’s reports names the victim as “Podi Patty”, and no outlet has stated that the two targets are the same person. The earlier attempt is noted here as context, not as an established link.
What is not known
No outlet has reported the number of gunmen, how they travelled, whether CCTV captured the attack, or whether the victim had a criminal record of his own or was under police protection. The discrepancy between the afternoon and evening timings is unresolved.
