Preliminary interrogations of Ousmand Gunasekera, alias “Gampaha Ousmand,” have revealed that he ran the local money laundering operations of underworld figure “Kehelbaddara Padme” using his own business enterprises, and that the long-running public “feud” between the two men was entirely staged to mislead police and the public, Ada Derana reported on Friday.
Gunasekera was arrested on May 13 by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) for allegedly supplying the firearm used to kill ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ inside the Aluthkade court complex in February 2025. A foreign-manufactured repeater shotgun, two magazines and 10 live rounds were recovered from his Sri Bodhi Road, Gampaha residence at the time of arrest. After the initial 72-hour detention expired, the CCD on Friday secured a 90-day order to continue questioning him.
Investigators told Ada Derana that the suspect maintained a close working relationship with Padme — the prime suspect in the Ganemulla Sanjeewa murder — despite years of public hostility between the two camps. Officers now say Padme never issued death threats against Ousmand, and that earlier incidents in which Padme’s henchmen were arrested while “allegedly preparing to assassinate” Ousmand had been orchestrated by the duo.
In a separate statement to News 1st on Sunday, police confirmed that the revolver used to kill Ganemulla Sanjeewa inside Courtroom No. 5 of the Hulftsdorp magistrate’s complex on February 19, 2025 was the firearm supplied by Ousmand Gunasekera.
Detectives have established that Ousmand was fully responsible for laundering Padme’s proceeds inside Sri Lanka, channelling them through his business interests. Earlier CID interrogations of Padme over the Sanjeewa killing had yielded no information about Ousmand. The breakthrough came during the recent questioning of “Batuwatte Chamara,” who was extradited from Azerbaijan — Chamara reportedly disclosed that Ousmand had supplied the firearm used in the assassination.
Further investigations are continuing under the direct supervision of the Colombo District Deputy Inspector General of Police. The disclosure marks a fresh escalation in a case that has now produced cross-border arrests through the repatriation of ‘Batuwatte Chamara’ from Dubai, his subsequent 72-hour CID detention, and the earlier arrest of an associate in India tied to the original courthouse shooting.
