Weligama PS chairman shot dead inside his office

A Sri Lankan opposition politician was shot dead in his office on Wednesday, police said, the latest in a wave of assassinations and the first to target a political figure.

Lasantha Wickramasekara, 38, the council chairman of the coastal city of Weligama, was meeting with constituents when a gunman burst in and fired multiple times with a revolver.

No one else was wounded, and the gunman fled the scene.

"An investigation is underway to track down the killer," police said in a statement, adding that the motive for the attack remains unclear.

Wickramasekara was a member of the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, which has been locked in a bitter power struggle with the ruling party over control of the Weligama council.

Sri Lanka has seen a surge in violent crime this year, much of it linked to drug gangs and organised crime.

Official figures show at least 50 people have been killed in more than 100 shootings.

This marks the first assassination of a politician since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government came to power last year, pledging to restore law and order.

The most brazen attack was in February when a gunman dressed as a lawyer shot dead a suspect inside a courthouse in Colombo. (Economic Times)