The director of the unregistered Anguruwatota elders’ home at Batagoda, where a June 3 fire killed 13 residents, has been granted bail by the Horana Magistrate’s Court, Ada Derana reported on Wednesday.
The court released the director on Rs. 100,000 cash bail and two surety bonds of Rs. 1 million each, with an additional travel ban barring departure from the country pending investigation. The next hearing was fixed for June 25. The director had been remanded shortly after the fire and continued in remand custody while the Police completed initial fact-finding on the night of the blaze.
The Batagoda care facility — which operated without a formal registration with the National Secretariat for Elders — has become the central case in a wider government push toward mandatory registration of care homes for older adults announced by Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj. The Anguruwatota fire toll rose from 8 in the immediate aftermath to 11 by June 4 and to 13 as critically burned residents succumbed in hospital.
Police investigators have been examining electrical-fault, fire-safety and emergency-egress aspects of the facility, alongside questions over how the home continued to operate without registration and inspection. Public prosecutors are expected to file further charges once forensic and post-mortem reports are finalised.
Sources: Ada Derana — Anguruwatota Elders’ Home director granted bail.
