Main suspect in Kalutara schoolgirl’s death remanded

The main suspect arrested over the death of the 16-year-old schoolgirl in Kalutara has been remanded until May 26.

He was produced before the Kalutara Magistrate’s Court.

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.

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 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 10 May, allowed the police to detain him for a period of 48 hours for further questioning.

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.

The young couple in question and the driver of the car in which the group arrived at the hotel, are also currently under arrest. They have been remanded until May 15 after being produced before the court.

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).