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PersonDeceased

Aruna Widanagamage (Meegasare Kajja)

Listed from published reports. Appearing here is not a finding of wrongdoing.

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Details

Also known as

Meegasare Kajja

Role

Described by News First as a notorious figure in the Hambantota District who faced allegations including illegal possession of firearms and extortion

Died

Shot dead on 18 February 2025 at Middeniya, with two of his children

Appears on

Politicians and investigators

Last checked

13 Oct 2026 (what this means)

Connections (4)

• Aruna Widanagamage (Meegasare Kajja) / Shot dead in, February 2025 / Middeniya shooting, 18 February 2025
  • He was shot dead on 18 February 2025 while travelling by motorcycle with his children; two of his children died of their injuries. According to police reports, the killing was a contract worth Rs. 500,000.6 Mar 2025 · News 1st · Kajja's Assassination Was Rs. 500,000/- Contract Hit
  • Names suspects who were arrested in Indonesia, and reports that a former SLPP local government candidate admitted supplying the firearm used in the killing.30 Sep 2025 · News 1st · Ex-SLPP Candidate Manamperi Admits Supplying Guns For Kajja’s Murder
• Aruna Widanagamage (Meegasare Kajja) / Long involved with, before shifting support to another party / Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)
  • Reports that he had recently shifted his support to another political party after being actively involved with the SLPP for a long time, and was known to have close ties with several powerful politicians in the district.30 Sep 2025 · News 1st · Ex-SLPP Candidate Manamperi Admits Supplying Guns For Kajja’s Murder
• Aruna Widanagamage (Meegasare Kajja) / Police say he was in the vehicle that followed, 2012 / Wasim ThajudeenAllegation
  • According to the police spokesman, he was in the vehicle that followed Wasim Thajudeen’s car shortly before Thajudeen’s death, based on a statement by his widow, who identified him in CCTV footage, and the interrogation of another suspect.30 Sep 2025 · Ada Derana · ‘Kajja’ linked to murder of Wasim Thajudeen?
  • The CID said it had confirmed that he was the man in the jeep that followed Thajudeen’s car, and that investigations continue to confirm this and identify others involved.4 Oct 2025 · Ada Derana · CID confirms ‘Kajja’ followed Wasim Thajudeen’s car before murder
  • The CID said he was employed at the Ministry of Defence at the time. The widow’s account has been challenged by his son and other relatives, who dispute it.7 Oct 2025 · News 1st · Kajja Worked At MoD During Thajudeen Murder
• Aruna Widanagamage (Meegasare Kajja) / Said in an interview that he and others were loyal to relatives of / Mahinda RajapaksaAllegation
  • Tamil Guardian reports that in an interview a year before his death he said a relative of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Kapila Dissanayake, asked him to protect his family during the May 2022 protests, and that “we were loyal to them”. He rejected the description of himself as a Rajapaksa henchman and denied direct involvement in killings during the unrest. The article carries no response from Mahinda Rajapaksa.28 Feb 2025 · Tamil Guardian · Sri Lanka's political-criminal underworld: The murder of Aruna Vidanagamage and the Rajapaksa connection