Acting Police Media Spokesperson Assistant Superintendent of Police Minura Senerath made a significant revelation on September 30, stating that Aruna Shantha Vidanagamage, also known as ‘Middeniye Kajja’, who was recently murdered, was in the car that pursued rugby player Wasim Thajudeen’s vehicle in 2012.
Senerath stated that on the day of Thajudeen’s murder, he had gone to a supermarket in Havelock to buy a bottle of water. Upon leaving the store and re-entering his car, another vehicle began to pursue him. CCTV footage of the incident revealed the presence of another individual near the car.
Nine years ago, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) released footage to the media to identify this individual, but without success. However, based on a statement given by ‘Middeniye Kajja’s’ wife, the individual in question has now been confirmed as the recently murdered Aruna Shantha Vidanagamage.
‘Backhoe Saman’ Directly Linked to Kajja’s Murder
‘Backhoe Saman,’ a suspected underworld leader recently brought to Sri Lanka from Indonesia, had been accused as the main planner behind the February 18 murder of ‘Kajja’ (Aruna Shantha Vidanagamage) and his two children in Mid-deniya this year.
Acting Police Media Spokesperson Minura Senerath confirmed that interrogations with ‘Backhoe Saman’ following his arrest revealed his direct involvement in ‘Kajja’s’ murder. Furthermore, ‘Kajja’s wife also provided a statement to the CID, mentioning that her husband had received death threats from ‘Backhoe Saman’ and his associates.
As ‘Kajja’ had revealed details about Wasim Thajudeen’s murder in a 2023 YouTube interview, CID officials sought the assistance of ‘Kajja’s’ wife to identify the person seen near the car that pursued Thajudeen’s vehicle.
“That’s My Husband” – Wife Identifies Kajja in CCTV Footage
CID officials showed ‘Kajja’s’ wife the CCTV footage of the suspect. She immediately identified him as her husband. “The Criminal Investigation Department decided to show this woman the CCTV footage,” the Acting Police Media Spokesperson told BBC Sinhala. “As soon as it was shown, Kajja’s wife recognized him, saying, ‘Sir, that’s my husband…'”
When questioned by CID officials, “How can you say that?”, she replied, “Why, sir, I lived with this man for 17 years. Don’t I know my husband?” The Acting Police Media Spokesperson stated this was her response.
To further confirm the identification, CID officials continued to question her. “Sir, he is holding his hands on his back; he has a back problem. That’s why he always keeps his hands on his back. That’s him,” she stated.
Based on her statement, the suspect who was in the car pursuing rugby player Wasim Thajudeen’s vehicle was identified, the Acting Police Media Spokesperson further added.
Thajudeen’s Murder: A Homicide Confirmed
Rugby player Wasim Thajudeen was found dead on May 17, 2012, in a burnt car on Park Road near the Shalika Stadium in Narahenpita. While police and authorities initially declared his death an accident, his relatives filed a complaint with the police, asserting it was not.
Subsequently, a court ordered his body to be exhumed for re-examination. Following the second post-mortem examination, a medical board, including Colombo’s Chief Judicial Medical Officer Ajith Tennakoon, submitted a report to the court in 2015, concluding that Wasim Thajudeen’s death was a homicide.
The medical report stated that he was not driving the burning vehicle at the time of the incident. It indicated that he had been assaulted, incapacitated, and then placed in the vehicle. The specialist panel concluded that he died from injuries sustained from blows to his legs, neck, and chest.
Aruna Vidanagamage, or Kajja, was a prominent figure who symbolized the terrifying face of Medamulana politics in the south, which had enveloped the entire state power of Sri Lanka for a long time. Media reports after his murder also indicated that he was involved in various crimes in the Thangalle, Middeniyaa, Karandeniya, Meegamara, and Medamulana areas.
According to these media reports, illegal gambling was his main source of income. Police investigations revealed that at the time of the shooting, he was on his way to gamble, having left his children at friends’ houses.
In 2024, an incident was reported where Middeniye Kajja, armed, broke into a gambling den, intimidated the people there, and robbed them of money. Police state that he has been accused of numerous crimes, including robberies, murders, extortions, and illegal possession of weapons. Police also say that he was involved in robbing a house in Middeniyaa in 2014, threatening a person in Embilipitiya and extorting money in 2019, and robbing a jeep in Beliatta in the same year.
Several other crimes are attributed to him, including the abduction of a three-wheeler in 2019, his arrest in Weeraketiya with a T56 firearm and 30 live rounds, and the robbery of money from a bus in 2021.
On November 28, 2023, Aruna Vidanagamage gave an interview with Chamuditha Samarawickrama, revealing that he was known as ‘Rajapaksa’s executioner,’ willing to commit any murder for the Rajapaksa family. He also stated that he had participated in all violent acts that the Rajapaksa family asked him to carry out.
In another interview with Chamuditha Samarawickrama on February 11, 2024, Aruna made several accusations against the Rajapaksa family and Mahinda Rajapaksa’s personal security officer, the notorious Neville Wanniarachchi. Aruna stated in these interviews that the Rajapaksa family did not appreciate what he had done for them and that he was now facing death threats.
In December 2023, Aruna Vidanagamage was arrested for possessing a live hand grenade and a revolver. During his interview with Chamuditha, he stated that his arrest was part of a “drama” orchestrated by a person named Samantha, a protégé of Namal Rajapaksa, to have him arrested. He also stated that Samantha worked at Carlton and handled all matters for Major Neville Wanniarachchi, the security officer of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He also claimed that if the Rajapaksas said so, they had people ready to kill anyone who came forward.
He also told Chamuditha Samarawickrama that the Rajapaksas disliked him using a Defender-type vehicle now, and also disliked other people wearing the “Saataka” (shawl), believing that the “Saataka” was part of the Rajapaksas’ birthright.
What he said in these YouTube interviews clearly indicates that he was well aware that he would be killed at any moment. “If they kill me like that, I have prepared everything to expose it all,” he said. He also expressed the idea that although he had committed various crimes as a pawn for these politicians for a long time, they had now abandoned him. What does that mean? That these politicians abandon criminals after using them for their own ends? Or that they have now ceased political violence and thuggery and become virtuous? Or perhaps that the current situation in the country no longer allows for political thuggery?
Aruna is also said to have been a front-runner in protecting the Rajapaksa residences and properties from arson during the “Aragalaya” (struggle). He stated that there was a plan to kill him and that a contract had been given to a person detained at Angunukolapelessa Prison. His social media posts later showed his involvement with the Sarva Jana Balaya. Information also circulated recently that Aruna had been hiding in the office of a political party in Colombo for some time.
However, as Aruna expected, he was murdered. Unfortunately, two innocent children also had to pay the price for his mistakes. On the other hand, this clearly shows that for Aruna’s killers, even the lives of two children were worthless.
