Two men and a woman were remanded till April 20 by Kalutara Additional Magistrate and District Judge S. Nanayakkara pending further investigations into the crime and robbery offences committed by the main suspect Mudiynselage Sampath Kumara of Ambilipitiya, an accomplice of Kosgoda Tharaka.
The main suspect was evading arrest since he escaped from the prison custody in 2019.
He had 17 warrants issued by the Ambilipitiya High Court and Magistrate’s Court. He is an accused in 40 crime and robbery cases pending before the Ambilipitiya Provincial High Court and the Magistrate’s Court.
The other suspect C. D. D. Silva Siriwardena of Ganemulla Palliyagoda had provided shelter for Sampath Kumara. The woman, Palliyagodage Pushper Rani, had possessed saving books of the main suspect Sampath Kumara.
The ransom money of the main accused had been deposited in her saving book.
The three suspects who were arrested by the Kalutara District Crime Investigations Unit last week were produced before the Kalutara Additional Magistrate on Friday with a “B” Report by the Kalutara South Police Crime Branch Officials.
First suspect Sampath Kumara had collected ransoms from businessmen in Ambilipitiya and in the Ratnapura Police Division on the instructions of Koskoda Tharaka, who is now in remand.
Kalutara Division Crime Investigations Unit officials on the instructions of SSP Nishan de Silva and SP Kapila Premadasa of the Kalutara Police Division conducted the investigation.
