Suspect of alleged President assassination plot further detained

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been granted permission to further detain the suspect arrested over an alleged plot to assassinate President Gotabaya Rajapaksa or his family.

Accordingly, the suspect will be detained until the 02nd of March, 2020, as per an order by the Minuwangoda Acting Magistrate Athula Gunasekara.

When the case was taken up today (17), the CID sought a court order to further detain the suspect as the investigations against him are still underway.

Considering the request, the Magistrate granted permission to detain the suspect further and ordered for a progress report on the investigations to be presented on the 20th of January, 2020.

The Crimes Division of the Katunayake Police, upon a tip-off on an assassination plot targeting the President or his family members, arrested 4 youths boarded in a hostel in the Amandoluwa area in Seeduwa.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a 26-year-old male among the arrestees had allegedly conspired on the assassination. The Valachchenai resident has allegedly informed the other youths of the plot during a party held in the hostel on November 28, according to the police.

Subsequently, the remaining 3 youths were released on bail while the main suspect detained and interrogated under the orders of the Minuwangoda Magistrate’s Court.