Suspected cop killer shot dead

By Madura Ranwala-November 22, 2013, 9:41 pm 

A 30-year-old ex-army commando deserter arrested over the killing of a constable attached to the Matara police anti-vice squad and his wife, was shot dead yesterday morning, when he allegedly attempted to shoot police personnel taking him to recover a hidden arms cache.

Constable W. G. Sunil was shot on his head while his wife, Apsara, was clubbed to death by the suspects on the night of November 16 at their residence in Kamburupitiya. The two year-old son had not been attacked but had fallen from the hands of the mother, when she was attacked. The child was rushed to the Karapitiya hospital by neighbours as blood was found inside his nose. But, the medical examinations had confirmed that the child had not been attacked, police sources said.

Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana told The Island that the suspect identified as Vidanagamage Amith Priyadarshana, a friend of the main suspect in the double murder had been shot dead by the Kamburupitiya police on a cinnamon land at Owitigamuwa around 4.50 a.m.

He said that the police had arrested the suspect three hours before the shooting in Kamburupitiya and taken him to a hideout in search of weapons used in the brutal killing.

Then the suspect had attempted to fire at the police with a revolver he took out from the hideout.

The police suspect that more suspects were involved in the double murder as the case was related to drugs.

The two year-old child has been handed over to Apsara’s father and their other six year-old son to her relatives. The eldest son escaped assault by hiding under a bed when the killers struck.

The police said that the victim constable had taken part in several raids conducted by the Matara Division Anti-vice Squad during the recent past.

Jet Airways cancels its daily service from Chennai to Colombo
Fri, Nov 22, 2013, 09:06 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Nov 22, Colombo: India's largest domestic airline Jet Airways announced today that it will cancel its daily service between the Southern hub at Chennai and Sri Lanka's Colombo international airport.
The longstanding daily one hour-twenty-minute flight operated with Boeing 737-800 equipment will be cancelled from 3rd January, 2014.
However, the domestic carrier will continue to serve Colombo from its largest hub at Mumbai.
India's aviation observers say the Jet Airways' decision is a bit of a surprise, given that the India-Sri Lanka market, especially with regards to inbound medical tourism at Chennai, remains robust.
However, Sri Lanka's souring relations with India, especially with the state of Tamil Nadu, has seriously affected the number of Sri Lankans travelling to Chennai for tourism.

In addition, Sri Lanka's national carrier SriLankan Airlines is planning a major Indian expansion, which could drive do