Twist in probes as police suspect Kalutara schoolgirl was sold to main suspect

As investigations into the mysterious death of the 16-year-old schoolgirl in Kalutara progress, suspicions have arisen as to whether she was trafficked to the main suspect.

The police suspect that the young man (22), who was at the hotel with his teenage girlfriend, had suggested selling the 16-year-old schoolgirl for Rs. 20,000 to the main suspect who was recently arrested in connection with the incident.

According to police suspicions, the 22-year-old youth had received a portion of this sum for setting the main suspect up with the teen.

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.

During today’s court proceedings, the defence attorney told the magistrate that it is not yet determined whether the girl’s death was a murder or a suicide.

In his initial statement given to the police, the suspect had confessed that they have had no sexual intercourse, despite being intimate with one another. According to him, the teen had received a call during which she yelled at the caller using foul words. After the call ended, she had climbed on to the chair beside the window, and jumped off the building, he had said.

The defence attorney further told the court that the police have yet to find out who made this purported phone call to the teen.

Raising concerns about the heart condition his client is suffering from, the defence attorney went on to seek special security for the suspect while in prison.

Meanwhile, the police made a request from the court to refer the 29-year-old to a forensic pathologist to uncover if the bite marks found on the body of the deceased belongs to the main suspect.

Granting leave for the request, the magistrate ordered the suspect to be presented before a forensic pathologist on May 16, and to place him behind bars on remand until May 26.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, the police and the navy have launched a joint search operation to locate the mobile phone used by the teenage girl, which is said to have been discarded into Kalu River by the 22-year-old in custody.