The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has revealed that Anura Vidanagamage, popularly known as “Meegasare Kajja,” who was recently murdered along with his two children, had been employed at the Ministry of Defence during the time of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen’s killing, media reported.
The disclosure has intensified suspicions of possible state involvement in Thajudeen’s death — one of Sri Lanka’s most high-profile and unresolved murder cases.
CCTV footage from the 2012 incident reportedly showed Kajja’s vehicle trailing Thajudeen’s car on the night of his death. Although Kajja’s wife had identified him in the video, some of his family members have since disputed the claim.
In a related development, former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) local government candidate Sampath Manamperi has allegedly confessed to supplying the firearm used in the murder of Kajja and his two children.
Investigators suspect the killings were part of a broader plot to eliminate individuals linked to sensitive past cases. Manamperi is currently detained under a 90-day detention order, while the CID continues to question multiple suspects believed to have been involved in the planning and execution of the crime.
The government has pledged a full and impartial investigation into unresolved cases, including Thajudeen’s murder and other politically sensitive crimes from the past decade.
Wasim Thajudeen, aged 28 at the time of his death, was one of Sri Lanka’s most talented rugby players. His death in 2012, initially reported as a car accident, was later reclassified as a homicide following forensic findings that confirmed signs of foul play. The case remains one of the country’s most discussed and controversial unsolved murders.
