Residents of Hunugallewa in Galgamuwa have publicly accused wildlife officers of pressing the two men remanded over the shooting of the tusker Kavantissa to admit to the killing, and of offering money to others in the village to give statements against them.

The allegations were made at a media briefing in the village and reported by Hiru News on Sunday. They are the villagers’ claims; no evidence for them is presented in the filing, and the Department of Wildlife Conservation is not quoted in response.

What the villagers say

One speaker said the men had been known to the village for twenty-six years with nothing on their record.

“We have known these people very well for twenty-six years. In all that time we have had no report that they were involved in any killing of an animal — not even catching a fish in a tank. Because these charges cannot be proved, we hear that various people are being given bribes and that statements are being sought from some of them against these men. These people must get justice before the law. And a fair investigation must be carried out.”

A second account describes how the men were taken. According to the speaker, everyone in the village holding a licensed firearm was taken away the previous week by a group the villagers did not recognise, and was assaulted in the course of being removed. Villagers searching for them heard at around nine at night that they were being held at the Galgamuwa wildlife office, and went there.

“We asked the chief officer who was there, why has this person been brought? Then he said: these are the ones who shot Kavantissa. This is already proved. That is why these people were brought. Then we asked, as villagers, why do you say they did it — what evidence is there?”

The speaker said that after a while the officer took him aside:

“He told me, ‘Little brother, go and tell your people to accept this. If I settle it — if they say they accepted it — the court will order a fine of about a hundred thousand rupees. They can pay that and finish this off.’”

The villagers said the community is now frightened, that some people are being pressed with money to give statements, and that “a helpless group has been taken away instead of the right person who should be punished.”

Context

Kavantissa, one of the country’s best-known tuskers, died on or about 16 October at Siyambalangamuwa in Galgamuwa after being shot and developing an infection. Two men were arrested and remanded on 19 October in a case this desk already noted for its unusual handling: the arrests were made by an anti-corruption strike force based roughly 150 kilometres away, working with a wildlife team from another province, while the local Ambanpola Police reported the matter to court. No filing has explained why the case was worked that way.

The death triggered an exceptional political response. The President appointed an expert committee to examine it, the Prime Minister set out a wildlife crime enforcement push, and the Opposition Leader formed an organisation in the tusker’s name. The treating veterinary surgeon resigned.

Not reported

Hiru’s filing does not name the speakers, say when or where the briefing was held, identify the officer alleged to have made the offer, or state whether any complaint has been lodged with the police, the Human Rights Commission or the courts. It carries no response from the Department of Wildlife Conservation, and does not say whether one was sought.

It also does not say how many licensed firearm holders were taken, whether any were released, or whether the two remanded men are among that group.

No other verified newsroom had filed on these allegations at the time of writing; a search of Ada Derana, Daily Mirror, NewsFirst, Island and Daily FT returned the earlier arrest and investigation coverage but not the villagers’ claims. This account therefore rests on a single source and should be read accordingly.