Police offer £20k reward for info on homophobic murder in Tower Hamlets graveyard

Ranjith Kankanamalage was killed in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

A £20,000 reward has been offered for information on a suspected homophobic murder at an east London cemetery, as national hate crime figures on Tuesday painted a disturbing picture of violence across the UK. Ranjith Kankanamalage, known as ‘Roy’, was killed in the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park on August 16. The Met made the reward offer on Tuesday as a vigil, organised by Let Voice Be Heard, is set to be held at the scene at 5pm and as national figures were released showing that police recorded over 124,000 hate crimes across England and Wales in the year to March. Kankanamalage, 50, was found with fatal head injuries and a post-mortem confirmed they were caused by blunt force trauma. Police are yet to make any arrests over the "horrendous" murder, something the Met admitted was causing concern among the city's LGBTQ+ community. The Met on Tuesday released CCTV images of two men seen walking past the cemetery at the time of the attack that they would like to speak to. One of the men is described as being of medium build, with short, light-coloured hair. He was wearing a dark t-shirt, light blue shorts, dark brown trainers, and carrying a black backpack. The second person is also of medium build but with short dark hair. He was wearing a dark jacket and dark trousers. A spokesperson for Let Voice Be Heard said the group was "coming together to show respect to Ranjith" and because "our voices need to be heard loudly against any kind of homophobic attack", the Evening Standard reported. Detective superintendent Pete Wallis, from the Met’s specialist crime command, said police understand that given the circumstances of the crime "people may be reluctant to come forward". “We continue to urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant they believe it to be, to report it to police or any of our LGBT+ partners," he said. Wallis said the Met is particularly appealing to the two people seen walking past the cemetery at the time of the attack to come forward. Derek Lee, from the Met’s LGBT+ advisory group, added: “I can assure the public that any information shared will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and consideration. My colleagues and I remain dedicated to finding Ranjith’s killer.

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