Seya Sewmi's murder -- Updates 11

The two criminals who were suspects of having abused Seya Sadewmi and killed her which turned out to be a mysterious death were cordoned by the CID yesterday and the two of them has admitted that they are guilty of the offence.

These two suspects are two brothers and they have temporarily resided at one of their sister's house which was close to Seya's house. After this horrifying murder the younger brother had disappeared while the elder brother was subjected to police interrogation in the house, at the initial stages.

The main suspect of the incident, younger brother Dunesh Priyashantha was cordoned by the police when he had been moving about and hiding in the jungle in Baduwathugoda area in Gampaha yesterday as a type of savage-character. He had even prior to this got involved in acts of kidnapping female children from houses and having molested them. The two of them had even indulged in exhuming the body of a young girl and engaging in the distorted activity of raping her, during the past. The police had received information to the effect that the two of them were earning their living by doing labour-work and were foolish characters who were accustomed to a low-class level of behaviour as well. The two of them had temporarily lived in a house of a younger sister who was residing in Badalgama area in Kotadeniyawa. This house had actually been close to Seya's house which was situated when passing the road leading to her house.

The police suspect that they may have seen Seya playing when going to and fro along that route. The younger brother is someone who is connected to an incident where he had abducted a female child in Gampaha area and had later abandoned her in a field in Bemmulla area. The said young girl who thus died was 26 years of age and these two brothers had exhumed her body from the place where she was buried and had then abused her, it was revealed at investigations. The fact that the elder brother of the two of them leaving Badalgama area all of a sudden aroused the suspicion of the police.

It was on a tip-off received from a person in the area that this main suspect connected to Seya's murder, the younger brother, was hiding in Gampaha Baduwathugoda area that he was cordoned. He had been taken into custody at a moment he was hiding under a shrub of flowers behind a cemetery situated in Baduwathugoda in Bemmulla. It was a person from Kotadeniyawa area who first provided this information. What he had said was that Dunesh as well as his elder brother used to come to smoke ganja and that they were constantly moving about in the field where Seya's corpse was found; but that after this incident he had disappeared. Subsequently, the police had been to the sister's house 5 days before this, where the suspect was supposed to have been living. That house was in the vicinity of the house where Seya had lived. The police officers who went there were told that he had gone to his mother's house which is Gampaha Bemmulla area.

Later the police officers had gone to the Bemmulla area house and what Dunesha's mother had mentioned there was that he had gone from home 2 days before that. Whatever it is, as it came to be known, the suspect had been in the house and had fled from the rear, the police had received information. Later a field in Baduwathugoda area where the suspect was supposed to have been hiding was checked. Though every spot in that field was checked, there was no trace of the suspect. Subsequently the police officers managed to find a telephone number alleged to be that of the suspect. Information was reported on checking that phone number after directing it to network scrutiny that the suspect was still hiding in the said jungle area.

As such, the CID officers, the Intelligence Unit, officers of the Western Province Crime Investigations Unit with the assistance of the villagers launched an operation in perusing the forest. During this process, a person had seen the suspect fleeing towards the area known as Sarath Aiyage watta and it was approximately as early as 5.30 in the morning. The investigations had been conducted accordingly. At that point he had made his escape. After that everyone had given chase to him. While pursuing him in this manner the spot where the suspect was hiding too was found.  It was in fact a place where a small pit was seen with palm leaves prepared in a manner it was suitable enough to sleep. There had been some empty packets of biscuits and an Anoda fruit there. Going further, another spot where the suspect was, was located. A bed sheet which had been used to cover him up in the night and the telephone were found.

Finally, the suspect was covered by a sack and was taken away in a Defender vehicle by the police for questioning. They were brought to the Colombo Criminal Investigation Department last evening for further questioning.