Angoda Lokka’s close aide ‘Ladiya’ nabbed in Bengaluru

The Crime Branch-CID police from Coimbatore arrested Chanuka Thananayaka alias Ladiya alias Ladim, 38, a close aide of Sri Lankan underworld don Angoda Lokka, from Bengaluru on Saturday.

Police said Chanuka Thananayaka, hailing from Athurugiriya in Colombo was a most wanted criminal in Sri Lanka. The sleuths arrested another man, identified as T. Gopalakrishnan alias Jayapal, 46 for providing shelter to Thananayaka in Bengaluru. The two were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) M. Sanjeevi Baskar on Saturday night and later remanded in judicial custody.

After the death of Angoda Lokka due to cardiac arrest at his hideout in Coimbatore on July 3, 2020, police had arrested Madurai based lawyer Sivakami Sundari and her friend Dhyaneswaran for helping him stay in India under a false identity. Angoda Lokka’s lover Amani Dhanji who was living with him in Coimbatore was also arrested. Inquiries with the three revealed that Lokka’s pistol was handed over to Thananayaka through Sivakami. Meanwhile, the case was transferred to CBCID who launched a hunt for Thananayaka. Police said Coimbatore CB-CID Deputy Superintendent of Police P Sivakumar got a tip off about the whereabouts of Thananayaka and a team rushed to Bengaluru on November 6. (TOI)