UNP MP flees after pistol whipping lass

by Prasad Poornamal

Police are hunting for Puttalam district UNP Parliamentarian Palitha Range Bandara whose alleged brutal assault on a 16-year-old girl left the victim unconscious.

The incident took place on Monday evening in Karuwalagaswewa in Puttalam.

According to SP Roshan Fernando, the alleged assault took place when the MP had intervened in a dispute.

The victim Chandrika Damayanthi, 16, from Karuwalagaswewa was admitted to the Colombo National hospital on Monday night in a critical condition from injuries caused by the alleged assault by the UNP MP using a pistol.

The girl admitted to the Thabbowa rural hospital on Monday night was later transferred to the Puttalam hospital and then to the Chilaw hospital from where she was transferred to the National Hospital Colombo, Police said.

According to Police, the victim was in a state of unconsciousness even by yesterday and Police could not record a statement from her.

The victim's sister, Jayantha Kumari told Police that the MP had assaulted Damayanthi with the pistol near the Karuwalagaswewa garment factory around 6 p.m. on Monday after arriving in a white van. The MP's mother had also been there when the alleged assault took place, according to Kumari.

Asked whether the Police had taken steps to arrest the MP over this incident, SP Fernando said the arrest will be made after forwarding facts to the Courts since the Police cannot arrest a MP directly.

However, it was reported the MP has left the area after the incident.

According to Police, nine complaints had been lodged against Range Bandara after the Presidential election.

However, residents expressed their dissatisfaction at the inaction of the Karuwalagaswewa Police to investigate the complaints.