Kalutara schoolgirl’s death: three including main suspect remanded further
May 15, 2023 03:15 pm
Three suspects including the main suspect in the death of the 16-year-old girl outside a hotel in Kalutara have been ordered to be further remanded until May 26, after being produced before the Kalutara Magistrate’s Court today (May 15).
Meanwhile, the hotel owner’s wife who was arrested in relation to the incident has been granted bail, according to Ada Derana reporter.
On May 06, the naked corpse of a 16-year-old girl was found near the railway tracks in Kalutara, after she reportedly fell to her death from the third floor of a five-storey hotel in the area.
Danushka Gayan Sahabandu, a 29-year-old resident of Isuru Uyana in Kalutara, was arrested on May 09, three days after the teen’s body was recovered.
During preliminary interrogations, the suspect, however, denied all murder accusations. He told the police that the girl had, in fact, jumped off the hotel building after receiving a phone call.
He divulged that he visited the hotel on May 06 along with another young couple (a young woman aged 19 and a 22-year-old male) and the 16-year-old girl after renting two rooms on the third floor. He also admitted to consuming alcohol with them.
The suspect had also mentioned that he was not acquainted with the schoolgirl prior to meeting her for the first time on that fateful day and that he was introduced to her by the 22-year-old.
Soon after his arrest, Kalutara Magistrate’s Court, on May 10, allowed the police to detain him for a period of 48 hours for further questioning.
Following the detention period, he was produced before the Kalutara Magistrate who ordered to place him in remand custody until May 26.
Meanwhile, the wife of the hotel owner was arrested on Thursday (May 11) on account of failing to properly check the deceased’s National Identity Card (NIC) before accommodating her at the said hotel. Initial probes had revealed that the NIC produced by the 16-year-old girl to rent a room at the hotel belongs to one of her friends.
On Thursday, on the directives of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the investigations into the tragic incident were handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
Against this backdrop, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has deemed the hotel building in question an ‘illegal construction’. In a report, the UDA listed nine discrepancies with the construction in question, adding that the approval of the Kalutara Municipal Council had not been obtained prior.
