Kalutara schoolgirl’s death: Three including main suspect further remanded

The main suspect and the young couple arrested in connection with the death of a 16-year-old schoolgirl in Kalutara last month have been further remanded.

Accordingly, the three accused were further remanded until 07 July, after being produced before the Kalutara Magistrate’s Court today (23 June).

On 06 May, 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 09 May, three days after the teen’s body was recovered.

A young couple, aged 19 and 22, who had accompanied the girl and the main suspect too were later arrested, along with another individual, identified as the driver of the car in which the group travelled.

Meanwhile, the wife of the hotel owner was placed under arrest on 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.

During preliminary interrogations, the main suspect denied murder accusations levelled against him. He told the police that the girl had, in fact, jumped off the hotel building after receiving a phone call.

He also revealed that he visited the hotel on May 06 with the young couple in question, and the 16-year-old after renting two rooms on the third floor of the hotel. He had also admitted to consuming alcohol with them.

The main suspect had also mentioned that he was not acquainted with the schoolgirl prior to their meeting on that fateful day and that he was introduced to her by the 22-year-old youth.

The main suspect’s driver was released on two surety bails of Rs. 500,000 each on 09 June, while a foreign travel ban was also imposed on him until the hearing of the case is concluded. 

While barring him from exerting pressure on the witnesses in the case, the chief magistrate also ordered him to report to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the last Sunday of every month between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.