A man wanted over the murder of a 78-year-old resident of Koralaima in the Kiriwaththuduwa area has been arrested by the Kahathuduwa Police, Ada Derana reported on Sunday.
Police said the victim was assaulted with an iron bar and killed on August 8. The suspect, also a resident of Kiriwaththuduwa, was arrested while hiding near the Kindelpitiya Bridge in Kesbewa, following information received by the Crime Investigation Division of the Kahathuduwa Police.
What investigators say happened
According to police, the suspect had been using narcotics with the victim’s 17-year-old grandson for some time. On the day of the incident, the teenager refused to join him, and the suspect — described by police as irritated at the refusal — allegedly went to the teenager’s house and assaulted him with an iron bar.
When the grandfather intervened to rescue the boy, the suspect allegedly turned the same weapon on the elderly man.
A two-week flight
Investigators traced a lengthy escape route. The suspect fled on foot through Horana towards Ratnapura, reaching Pelmadulla the following afternoon before travelling by bus to Embilipitiya, where he stayed at the house of an acquaintance.
Police said he then travelled by bus to Colombo at around 1:10 a.m. on August 21 and proceeded to Boralesgamuwa, before hiding near the Kindelpitiya Bridge in Kesbewa with the intention of leaving the area.
The arrest was made during an operation carried out on information provided by a private informant to the Officer-in-Charge of the Crime Investigation Division of the Kahathuduwa Police, Police Inspector Saman Gamage.
Police said the suspect is heavily addicted to drugs and had also been involved in selling cannabis in the area.
After being produced before the Kesbewa Magistrate’s Court, the suspect was remanded until September 3. Further investigations are being conducted by the Kahathuduwa Police.
Ada Derana was the only verified newsroom carrying the arrest as of Sunday afternoon. The suspect has not been named in the report and has not been convicted of any offence.
