Courts issue verdict that ....

A case which was being inquired for a long

Deputy Inspector General of Police Vass Gunawardena, his son Ravindu Gunawardena and 4 others were found guilty today by a bench of special judges of High Court, Colombo and it was decided that they had abducted this businessman and murdered him. The statement in this connection ran into 802 pages according to evidence produced in this connection.

M.M. Mohamed Siyam, who was subjected to murder was someone who was a millionaire shoe importer living down Sagara Road, Bambalapitiya and who even associated MPs and Ministers closely. It was on 22nd May in the year 2013 that he had disappeared when he was travelling in the company of a supposed friend of his known as Fowzdeen. Though in the initial stages the investigations were not properly carried out, a brother related to Siyam after informing the former President it was understood that a special investigation was launched.

The abandoned vehicle of Siyam was found close to a medical centre down Kandewatta Road, Nugegoda and the police were able to gather much information across a video footage of a camera affixed to a nearby house. According to the video footage there, it was found that Fowzdeen who made the complaint about Siyam's disappearance had brought Siyam in the vehicle that day and having assaulted him and after which he was handed over to a group of people. Across this information Fowzdeen was apprehended by the police and it was possible to get across to an individual by the name of Chutte who had been involved in this assault. According to the information he supplied, it was possible to uncover that this murder was committed by a team of 6 policemen who were serving under Senior Deputy General of Police Vass Gunawardena, on a contract basis. This contract had been given by the said friend of the deceased, Fowzdeen. The reason for the murder had been that it had not been possible to settle a loan of 30 crores due to the deceased Siyam.

The police team consisting of 6 who had been serving the former Deputy Inspector General of Police and who were involved in this murder had finally thrown the dead body in a forest area in Dompe, the police later discovered. The body so thrown was not possible to be identified and thus was later taken to the Gampaha mortuary, it was later found.

The former Deputy General of Police was imprisoned for close upon a period of 2 years. On a previous occasion the wife of Vass and the son was subjected to suspicion for having called a student of SLIT Institute home and having assaulted him. While the murder charges against Vass Gunawardena and the others have been confirmed today in courts, the punishment to be pronounced in their case would be announced this evening, it was reported.