“Daylight killings cannot be justified” – M.A. Sumanthiran

25-Oct-2025

.

Senior Attorney-at-Law M.A. Sumanthiran stated that while the government’s efforts to curb underworld activities and drug trafficking are commendable, justifying daylight killings on that pretext is totally unacceptable.

The National People’s Power (NPP) government has been implementing nationwide measures to eliminate drug use and suppress underworld activities. 

While many underworld suspects have been arrested, several others identified as such have been killed in public, a trend that is drawing growing concern.

Sumanthiran said, “We welcome the government’s actions to combat the drug menace and underworld crime. However, we can never accept the justification of killings that occur openly in public. The government has a responsibility to uphold law and order.”

He added that over 50 such killings have occurred so far this year, and urged the government to take immediate measures to prevent such unlawful extrajudicial killings in the future.