The Galle Magistrate’s Court today issued overseas travel bans on 5 police constables attached to the Southern Province Special Investigation Unit, who are evading the CID over the abduction and murder of two businessmen from Rathgama.

The CID had requested the court to issue the travel bans on suspicion that the police constables who are evading the investigators could flee the country.

The court also instructed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to submit 7 items recognised as evidence in the case and the mobile phone belonging to one of the arrested suspects, IP Kapila Nishantha, to the Government Analyst’s Department for examination.

Meanwhile the court further remanded the two police officers, IP Kapila Nishantha and a sub-inspector of Southern Province Special Investigations Unit (SIU), who were arrested in connection with the murders, until March 13.

Two businessmen from Rathna Udagama, Boossa, 33-year-old Manjula Asela, and 31-year-old Rasen Chinthaka, were taken away by a group of persons in police uniforms who had arrived in a van and a car at around 10 a.m. on 23rd of January. Both businessmen had been at the residence of Manjula Asela at the time of the incident.

It was previously reported that the two businessmen were assaulted and murdered inside a house in Gonamulla area and that their remains were burned at Medagangoda Forest Reserve in Walasmulla.

Several more bone fragments were recovered today (27), at the location where remains of the two businessmen were purportedly burned.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police had ordered to transfer 15 police officers of Southern Province Special Crimes Investigation Unit, in connection with the murders.