Sujith Kulathunga, a district coach attached to the Sri Lanka Cricket, had been gunned down by an unidentified person on his way to Middeniya Vidyalaya at Beligolla off Middeniya road on Tuesday.

Kulatunga, who was employed by SLC as the district coach of Hambantota was on his way to Middeniya MV, when two unidentified persons had fired at him at close range with a ‘Galkattas,' a source close to the Police said Wednesday.

An improvised, ‘stuffed' bullet had been used by Kulatunga's killers and the reason behind the killing is not yet known.

Kulatunga was a resident of Matara and was on his way from Matara when he was shot.

Meanwhile, Beliatta Police who are conducting the investigation into the killing has taken two suspects into custody.

In an endeavour to introduce hard ball cricket to rural villages, Sri Lanka Cricket launched a programme in the Southern Province recently and Middeniya MV, where Kulatunga trained cricketers, was one of the first schools selected for the project.

It is learnt that a dispute had occured when Kulatunga first started training the cricketers at Middeniya MV. Some youth had protested against Kulatunga when he started training there.

However, when contacted, Beliatta Police said that they were conducting investigations to find out whether it was a personal dispute that led to the killing.

Kulatunga, (42), who represented BRC, Galle Cricket Club and Matara Sports Club, featured in 27 first class matches during the 1988-89 and 1998-99 seasons. The right-handed Kulatunga was a good wicketkeeper.