By The tragic shooting incident brings about several unanswered questions, and most of the questions point towards a serious flaw in communication.
The shooting at Pelana in Weligama last Sunday (31) that left. Police Sergeant Upul Chaminda Kumara (46) dead and a Sub-Inspector (SI) injured is a mystery, according to certain informed sources.
According to the Police spokesperson, the eight-member CCD team that went down to Weligama was there to further investigate the information provided by drug trafficker Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne, alias “Harak Kata.” Whi is now in custody
The day before the incident, a CCD team arrested 11 suspects from around Colombo and Matara. Who was helping Harak Kata’s drug trafficking network while he was in custody.
Lack of prior coordination is certainly an issue. The CCD team did not inform the local Weligama police about their operation in the area. This lack of prior coordination resulted in the Weligama police being unaware of the CCD team’s presence and mistaking them for suspects when they opened fire
Both the CCD team and the Weligama police were in plainclothes, making it difficult to distinguish them from civilians or potential suspects. This lack of clear identification further contributed to the confusion and misidentification.
During the exchange of fire between the CCD team and the suspect, there seems to be no mention of attempts to communicate or identify themselves to the Weligama police patrol that arrived on the scene. This lack of communication
during the critical moment likely worsened the situation and led to friendly fire.
Unclear protocols for inter-agency operations remain all throughout the incident and it is worthwhile further probing how and why such a sensitive investigation was not coordinated adhering to usual practice and protocols. This shortcoming has contributed to the confusion and lack of understanding between the CCD team and the Weligama police.
Why Expressway?
A question remains why the CCD officers choose to take the expressway rather than try to take their injured colleagues to hospitals located close to Weligama, SSP Thalduwa said that given the team was from Colombo, it was likely that they did not have much of an idea where the closest hospital was. This is very likely because it is only common senescence to know that a town like Welgama should have a hospital and given the seriousness of the situation getting to the closest hospital should have been a top priority.
