Bail for eight suspects in double murder case

Sarath Malalasekera

Kandy High Court Judge, D. S. C. Lekamwasam granted bail for eight suspects, all members of the same family, who had been remanded in connection with the double murder case.

The eight suspects are W. M. Weerakoon Banda, A. M. Ranajan Menike, Bandula Senadhipathi, R. M. Ukku Banda, R. M. Seneviratne Banda, R. M. Ran Banda, Amith Priyadarshana and A. L. Abeysinghe.

The eight suspects were remanded in connection with the murder of two persons, Ajantha Bandara Weerasekera and P. A. M. Podimenika at Iththamaliyagoda on November 11, 2007.

President’s Counsel Wijaya Wickramaratne, Senior Counsel for the suspects moving for bail susbmitted to Court that the suspects had been remanded for the last six months and ten days.

Senior Counsel Wickramaratne further submitted to Court that an attempt was made by a group of persons connected to the deceased to widen a road without authority and by force causing extensive damage to the property of third suspect Bandula Senadhipathi.

The Senior Counsel also submitted that they had brought a backhoe and tree cutting machine for that purpose. The suspects resisted this attempt and suspect Seneviratne Banda was with a sharp cutting instrument by one of the trespasssers. In the fight that followed between the two groups, six persons sustained injuries of a serious nature. Three persons from the trespassers and three suspects were hospitalised. Out of these injured persons two died.

The surviving trespasser is a Police Constable attached to the Hunnasgiriya Police station, Senior Counsel Wickramaratne added.