Mirihana Police on Friday night (Aug. 18) arrested the businessman, who was reported ‘missing’ in Kolonna for the past few days. He was found hiding inside a three-wheeler in the Delkanda area.

On Wednesday (Aug.16), Kolonna Police had received a complaint that a businessman who was traveling in a van in the Kolonna area had been attacked with chili powder and abducted.

Later, police recovered the van in which the businessman was traveling, near the Anilkanda Public Cemetery.

The police officers discovered chili powder on the driver’s seat, leading them to initially suspect that the businessman had been attacked. However, upon further examination, they began to suspect that the chili powder might have been intentionally sprinkled on the seat in a deliberate attempt at misleading.

Against this background, an Inspector of Mirihana Police received a tip-off yesterday afternoon, indicating that the said businessman was using a three-wheeler in the Delkanda area as a hiding place.

Accordingly, a police team was deployed to the area to arrest the ‘missing’ businessman. It also led to the arrest of two other individuals, aged 37 and 62, who were staying with him. They have been identified as residents of Rakwana and Gangodawila areas, the police said.

Police also seized receipts of cash deposits in favour of several bank accounts and Rs. 250,000 in cash found on one of the suspects, along with the three-wheeler in question.

The initial investigations conducted by the police have revealed that the businessman had staged the abduction.

Speaking regarding the matter, Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa stated that the statements given by the suspect suggest that the purported ‘abduction’ was a calculated effort to avoid the financial problems he was facing.

“He has devised this plan himself with the intention to go into hiding for some time”, the police spokesman added.

The arrested suspects were produced before the courts today (19) and remanded until August 24.