Claim: The main suspect in the Ganemulla Sanjeewa murder is seen having a friendly discussion with STF officers.
Fact: This is not true. The viral video is AI-generated.
The main suspect in the Ganemulla Sanjeewa murder was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) on the evening of February 19, 2025. Shortly after the arrest, a video began circulating on social media, allegedly showing the suspect laughing and having a friendly conversation with STF officers.
A YouTube channel with the name CCTV Sri Lanka 01 posted the video with a caption in Sinhala: ‘ගණේමුල්ල සංජීවයකගේ වෙඩික්කරු,’ which means ‘The Shooter of Ganemulla Sanjeewa.
The same video was posted by a TikTok account named tikuu_2024 with a caption in Sinhala: “ලංකාවෙ කෙල්ලන්ගෙ Crush එක 🥹♥️” which means Sri Lankan girls’ crush.
We also noticed that this video is going viral on TikTok with captions such as “handsome killer prince,” “The boy who killed Ganemulla Sanjeewa in the courthouse,” and “He smiled no matter what happened.” Some of these posts can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.
Apart from TikTok, this video is being shared on YouTube, and Facebook with different captions. Some of the posts can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.
Background of the Incident
Underworld drug trafficker and criminal gang leader, Sanjeewa Kumara Samararathne, also known as “Ganemulla Sanjeewa,” was shot inside No. 05 Magistrate’s Court within the Aluthkade Courts Complex on the morning of February 19, 2025. He later died from the critical injuries sustained in the shooting.
The main suspect, a gunman disguised in lawyer’s attire, who shot Ganemulla Sanjeewa inside the Magistrate’s Court Complex, was arrested later that evening in the Palaviya area of Puttalam by a Police Special Task Force (STF) team, as confirmed by the Police Media division.
Fact Check/ Verification
To confirm whether the video circulating on social media is genuine, we checked the news reports published in the mainstream media, particularly on electronic media channels, regarding the incident involving the suspect’s arrest. We found that these reports included images of the suspect, but nothing about the viral video.
On a closer scrutiny, we noticed some unrealistic elements in the viral video. The vehicle appeared to be moving while the door remained open, and the clarity of the faces and hands seemed questionable, and had unusually soft features. The video also showed extra hands without any traceable body, and fingers that flowed like spaghetti clearly indicate that the video is AI-generated.
The Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU), of The Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA), of which Newschecker is a part, verified the footage through ‘Contrails AI,’ which confirmed that the video has been AI-generated, particularly in the second half.
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala also stated that some images shared on social media of the Hulftsdorp shooting suspect are not real and have been edited using AI technology. He made this statement in response to a question by MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake during the parliament session held on 21 February 2025.
Conclusion
Video claiming to show the main suspect in the Ganemulla Sanjeewa murder having a friendly discussion with STF officers is AI-generated.
Result: Altered Media
Our Sources
Sri Lanka Police Website
Deepfake Analytics Report
Minister of Public Security, Ananda Wijepala’s Statement published on the DailyMirror YouTube channel, dated February 21, 2025.
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