(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) –The Kalutara South Police have succeeded in arresting the main suspect in connection with the death of Tihara Nirmani Nissanka Silva, a 16-year-old student studying in the 11th year of Kalutara Girls’ College.
A 29-year-old resident of Isuru Uyane, Kalutara, was arrested early this morning in Galle by the police.
The nude body of the teenage girl was found near the railway line behind a hotel on the main street of Galle Road in the Kalutara South Police Division on Saturday (May 06) evening.
Based on an information received by Kalutara Headquarters Police Inspector Mr. Ruwan Wijesinghe that the suspect is hiding in the Galle area, a group of crime branch officers, led by Crime Division OIC Police Inspector Dhammka Silva, raided the location and arrested the suspect who was hiding in the area.
The police say that he is a businessman who resides in Galle, Panadura and Kalutara areas and that he is currently married to two women.
The deceased girl had come to the hotel with the suspect and another young couple Saturday afternoon in the suspect’s car. The two couples have rented two rooms and a hotel employee has witnessed that all four were consuming alcohol in one of the rooms.
The other young couple has left earlier and the main suspect has also left the hotel soon after. It is reported that the main suspect had called the other couple and told them that the girl had jumped from the third-floor room and asked them to remove the body.
Following the discovery of the body near the rail line by a visitor to the hotel, the police have arrested the other couple.
They are residents of Kalutara Nagoda and yesterday another suspect, who drove the suspect’s car and kept hidden was arrested by the police.
All three of them were produced before the Kalutara Magistrate’s Court yesterday and were remanded until May 15th.
Investigations were carried out by several police teams to find the main suspect who was the last person to be with the student and fled.
The suspect will be produced before the Kalutara Magistrate and detention orders will be obtained to interrogate the suspect, police said.
The Police said that the post-mortem examination of the deceased student was conducted at the Kalutara Nagoda General Hospital Monday and the body parts and blood samples were sent to the Government Analyst.
Post mortem has revealed that the girl’s body had teeth marks in several places and an open verdict was given.
