UPFA Southern Provincial Council member M.K. Kasun and his wife Tharaka Perera, who assaulted the private bus driver near Koswatta junction in Thalangama Police division on Friday (09), was ordered to be remanded till Tuesday (13) by the Kaduwela Magistrate, yesterday.
A video recorded by an onlooker showed the driver of the 177 bus being brutally attacked by Kasun, while his wife was brandishing a pistol and kicking the victim ceaselessly. The driver was subsequently admitted to the Mulleriyawa base hospital.
Thalangama Police have successfully recovered the pistol and five bullets when the duo was arrested at the place of incident.
Speaking about the incident, President of the Lanka Private Bus Owners Association, Gemunu Wijeratne said they were waiting for justice to be served. “The law should be enforced equally to all citizens and people on the road must not be subject to attacks this way,” he added.
M.K Kasun, a UPFA council member for the Southern Province who is now aligned with the pro-Rajapaksa Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna faction (SLPP), is the son of former SPC member M.K Ranjith, also a well-known underworld member Chandi Malli who was shot dead in Colombo.
Pro-Rajapaksa local councilors and provincial legislators have long been in the limelight for criminal activity and acts of political thuggery.
In 2011, former Tangalle PS chairman, a close ally of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sampath Vidanipathirana infamously murdered British tourist Khuram Sheikh and raped his girlfriend who were holidaying in the area.
After lengthy delays, Vidanipathirana was finally convicted for the murder in 2014, after the British Government and the victim’s family exerted massive pressure on the authorities to bring the killers to justice.
Investigations into the incident are continuing, Thalangama Police said.