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“Mr Kottu” owner Viraj Wickramanayake has been at the centre of intense public anger after CCTV footage showing him assaulting a young employee went viral. Into that storm of backlash landed a new claim on social media: that implied Wickramanayake had died in a vehicle accident early that morning, suspected to be suicide. We investigated. Here is what we found.
Social Media Posts:
The video presented as footage of the accident is shown below.
Another video circulating in this manner can be seen here. This video was also published on TikTok under the same theme.
The responses to these posts similarly indicate that, based on the description of “a well-known Kottu shop owner”, many people have assumed it refers to the owner of Mr Kottu.
Fact-Check
No Mainstream Media Reported His Death
A video showing Viraj Wickramanayake, owner of the “Mr Kottu” business chain, brutally assaulting an employee went viral in recent days, sparking intense backlash against him on social media. Had he genuinely died in an accident amid this controversy, mainstream media would certainly have given the story significant coverage. No such report appeared. The posts were formatted to resemble “Ada Derana” news under the name “Aba Derana”, which led many people to assume it was a genuine news report.
The Video Is a Year-Old Accident from Kottawa, Not a New One
We submitted frames from this video to a reverse image search and found it was originally posted on TikTok by the handle “journeywithvlogs” on 30 March 2025, described as “Part 2” of an accident that occurred in Kottawa.
Part 1 was published as follows.
Accordingly, this is confirmed to be an old video, and it is also confirmed to show an accident involving a motorcycle colliding with a vehicle.
We also checked police media releases for 30 March 2025, the date the accident was claimed to have occurred, and the days surrounding it but found no report of such a road accident or any fatality.
Police Confirm No Such Accident Took Place
We contacted the Kottawa Police Station and the Police Media Division about this claim. Police confirmed that no fatal accident had been reported in the Kottawa police area that morning or in recent days. They also stressed that neither the owner of “Mr. Kottu” nor any other prominent individual had died in a road accident.
Maharagama Police Are Investigating the Assault Separately
The Maharagama Police Station has launched a special investigation into Wickramanayake’s assault on a young employee. Police media spokesperson Assistant Superintendent of Police F.U. Wootler confirmed the investigation.
The investigation began after CCTV footage showing the owner assaulting an employee at the restaurant began circulating on social media. Police intervened directly following intense public backlash.
According to the CCTV footage’s recorded data, the assault took place on 5 May. The incident stayed hidden because the employee was intimidated into silence. Once the video became public, the Criminal Investigation Division acted immediately. Maharagama Police continue to investigate to ensure the victim’s safety and gather evidence for legal action against the businessman.
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Conclusion
Our investigation establishes that reports of a Koththu shop owner, implying that Mr Kottu’s owner, Viraj Wickramanayake, died in a vehicle accident, are completely false. The video presented as evidence actually shows a separate, unrelated accident from roughly a year earlier.
Kottawa Police and the Police Media Division both confirmed no such fatal accident occurred, and no mainstream outlet reported his death. The claim spread by borrowing the format of a real news brand and riding the public backlash against Wickramanayake over an unrelated assault case, which is currently under active police investigation.
Title: No. The owner of Mr. Kottu did not die in a vehicle accident!
Written By: Pavithra Sandamali
Result: False
