Siripala (Sinhala: දෙද්දුවා ජයතුංගලාගේ සිරිපාල; 1949 – August 7, 1975), also known by the pseudonym Maru Sira (Maru: deadly, Sira: Short form of Siripala), was a Sri Lankan young criminal and bandit active from the late 1960s until the mid 1970s.

Siripala achieved fame through several prison escapes while his romance with Ranmanika made his story memorable.

D.J Siripala was the sixth child born in 1948, (exact month and day of his birthday are unknown).

They lived in Milla Gaha Watta, Liyangoda, Pannipitiya in Colombo District.

Liyanagoda was a rural village in the late 1940s, he grew up in a strongly religious family culture.

Siripala started his life in Anurdapura Town as a teenage gangster as he lost his family's care.

[6][7] Siripala's frequent visits to her liquor cache made an intimacy between them which later turned into a love.

[8] He never knew that Ranmanika was pregnant with his daughter, by the time he had been convicted for a murder and was in the death row.

[11] On the night before the execution (August 4, 1975), the prison authorities gave Siripala a strong dose of sedatives (Largactil) to prevent another escape attempt and keep him calm.

It is believed that his head was removed from his body during the exhumation for the autopsy and judicial-medical purposes following the Presidential Committee (in 1976?).

It depicts Siripala's aggressive behavior in terms of his plights and reactions towards what he encounters in his life.

Popular 1970s Sinhala Baila singer Anton Jones wrote and sang a song that questions the epic death of young Siripala.