One suspect in Kalutara schoolgirl’s death granted bail

The main suspect and the young couple arrested over the death of a 16-year-old girl in Kalutara were further remanded until June 23.

However, the third accused in the case, the driver of the main suspect, was released on strict bail conditions.

When the matter was taken up before Kalutara Chief Magistrate Neetha Hemali Halpaandeniya, the third accused was ordered to be released on two surety bails of Rs. 500,000 each.

Further, a foreign travel ban was imposed on him until the hearing of the case is concluded. While barring him from exerting pressure on the witnesses in the case, the chief magistrate also ordered him to report to the Criminal Investigation Department on the last Sunday of every month between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.

The four accused – the main suspect, the couple and the driver – were produced before the court earlier today along with another female who is currently out on bail.

During the proceedings, the CID officers told the court that the first, second and the fifth accused in the case need to be interrogated further, and request the court to allow the samples from the two liquor bottles found inside the room and the mobile phones of the three suspects to be referred to the Government Analyst.

The case will be taken up before the Kalutara Magistrate’s Court again on June 23.
 
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.

A young couple, aged 19 and 22, who had accompanied the girl and the main suspect too were later arrested, along with another individual, identified as the driver of the car in which the group travelled.

Meanwhile, the wife of the hotel owner was placed under arrest on 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.

During preliminary interrogations, the main suspect denied murder accusations levelled against him. He told the police that the girl had, in fact, jumped off the hotel building after receiving a phone call.

He also revealed that he visited the hotel on May 06 with the young couple in question, and the 16-year-old after renting two rooms on the third floor of the hotel. He had also admitted to consuming alcohol with them.

The main suspect had also mentioned that he was not acquainted with the schoolgirl prior to their meeting on that fateful day and that he was introduced to her by the 22-year-old youth.