e-News Editor arrested

Vijayani EDIRISINGHE

Editor-in-Chief of the eNews website Bennett Rupasinghe was arrested by the Wellampitiya Police yesterday afternoon for allegedly planning the arson attack on the website in an effort to bring the Government into disrepute and threatening the families of the suspects who carried out the arson attack on a contract basis.

He was later produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate and placed in remand custody till April 8.

A leading underworld character nicknamed Bhoothaya and his assistant nicknamed Soosa were arrested by the Talangama Police earlier in connection with the arson attack on this website. On interrogation these suspects had confessed that the contract to attack the website was given to them by an underworld kingpin in Negombo.

While investigations were being carried out into the attack under the direction of Nugegoda SP Deshabandu Tennakoon, the families of Boothaya and Soosa had complained to the Wellampitiya Police Station saying that they were constantly receiving death threats from an unknown party.

Boothaya’s brother one Sudath Jayalal too had also complained about such death threats.

The party issuing the death threats had told the families to induce Boothaya and Soosa to flee the country and tell Court that Police obtained confessions from them under duress.

Meanwhile, an unknown party had threatened Boothaya’s brother at pistol point recently and attacked him on the head with the pistol butt causing severe injuries according to a complaint lodged by him at the Wellampitiya Police Station.

Police investigating the death threats issued by phone had found that the phone calls originated from a place near the Negombo Prison. Police also found that eNews Chief Editor Bennet Rupasinghe had some connection with these phone calls.

Further investigations had enabled the Police to discover the SIM card allegedly used by Bennett Rupasinghe to exchange information regarding this crime with the underworld. The SIM card allegedly used by him belonged to an employee of the State Trading General Corporation.

Although Rupasinghe was summoned to the Wellampitiya Police Station earlier to record a statement from him in this regard he had failed to turn up.

Meanwhile, Police submitted this information to the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. In the meantime Bennett Rupasinghe surrendered to the Wellampitiya Police yesterday after arriving there in the company of UNP Provincial Councillor Shiral Laktilaka and a Southern Province UNP Parliamentarian who is an Attorney-at-Law. He was arrested by Police on the basis of his confession and the information gathered earlier about the eNews arson attack. Rupasinghe was due to be produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate yesterday afternoon. A Police team comprising Senior DIG K P P Pathirana, DIG Anura Senanayake, Nugegoda SP Deshabandu Tennakoon and SP Nishantha Zoysa are conducting further investigations.