Detention order released on suspect apprehended over Beliatta mass shooting

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A detention order was issued on Thursday (Jan.25) on the suspect arrested in connection with the recent mass shooting in Beliatta in which
five people were killed.Deiyannadara Magistrate delivered the order when the suspect was produced before the court.Accordingly, the suspect
will be detained until January 27 for onward investigations.The arrestee was identified as the driver of the SUV used by the assailants and
is also suspected of having orchestrated the mass shooting which took place on Tuesday (Jan.23).The 55-year-old named Saman Kumara was
arrested on Thursday (Jan.24) in Akuressa and earlier in the day, the vehicle used by the assailants was found parked near the Vidyaloka
Pirivena in Galle.Based on the information divulged by the suspect during interrogations, the investigating officers managed to locate a
motorcycle and a van linked to the assailants.The police believe that the perpetrators had used the impounded motorcycle to dispose of the
two T56 firearms they had used to commit the murders
The van had been arranged for them to move under the radar.Additionally, it was uncovered that an underworld figure hiding in Dubai had
introduced him to the gunmen and that the shooting was initially planned to be carried out near the Tangalle court premises.On January 23, a
group of persons who had arrived in an SUV had opened fire at a white Defender near the Beliatta Interchange of the Southern Expressway.In
the shooting, which took place between 8:30 a.m
and 8:40 a.m., four persons were killed at the scene
The other person who was inside the Defender was rushed to the Tangalle Hospital with critical gunshot wounds, however, he succumbed to