Lasantha Wickramasekara, 38, the council chairman of the coastal city of Weligama, was targeted by two gunmen who arrived at the scene on a motorcycle.

It was revealed that the shooters had entered the Pradeshiya Sabha premises after claiming they had come to get a letter signed by the chairman, reported Adaderana.

No other person present in the room was injured in the attack.

The motive behind the attack is still not clear.

The politician was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

This was the first assassination of a politician in Sri Lanka since  President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government came to power last year.