“Unjust and Illegal”: Widow of Makandure Madush Calls for Fresh CID Investigation

The widow of alleged underworld figure Samarasinghe Arachchilage Madush Lakshitha, better known as Makandure Madush, Gayani Muthumali, has requested Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya to transfer the investigation into her husband’s death in police custody to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

In a letter dated 10 September 2025, addressed to the IGP, which was seen by Media.lk, she said her husband had been in CID custody since May 2019 after being arrested overseas on multiple charges, before being handed over to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) in October 2020. She recounted that on 20 October 2020, when he was being held by the CCD, officers took him to Maligawatta under the pretext of conducting a drug raid, where he was subsequently shot dead.

The letter noted that then-Opposition Parliamentarian and current Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath raised questions in Parliament on the day of the shooting, highlighting the suspicious nature of Madush’s death. Muthumali said she had also learned through media reports that during CID interrogations, her husband had named a number of politicians and police officers who were in power/service at the time, and added that it is doubtful whether they had a hand in his killing.

She further said that although she expected due process if her husband had committed crimes, killing him while in police custody was unlawful and had caused severe trauma to their only child. “It is unjust and unacceptable to kill him under suspicious circumstances while in custody. If he was guilty, punishment should have been imposed by a court of law. His death could only be justified if a court had handed down the death penalty.” she wrote.

Muthumali described her husband’s killing as an “indecent and illegal act,” charging that police claims of new evidence emerging during the CCD’s custody, after one and a half years under the CID, raised further questions. She added that she had already sought relief through the courts, but had been advised that the request for a CID probe must be made directly to the IGP.

In 2020, Madush’s killing sparked controversy in Parliament and among the public, as it added to the growing number of custodial deaths linked to organised crime suspects in Sri Lanka. Police at the time stated he was killed in a crossfire between CCD officers and unidentified gunmen who attempted to free him at the Lakshitha Sevana apartment complex in Maligawatta. Two CCD officers injured in the incident were admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo.

However, several parties including opposition MPs and rights activists have long questioned the official version, pointing out that his death was very similar to previous cases where high-profile suspects were killed in custody during purported raids. The fact that he had been questioned about links to prominent political figures further led to allegations that his death was orchestrated to prevent damaging information from coming to light.

(B)