Court sentences two to death over 2006 Bobuwela murder

The Kalutara High Court today, the 24th of June, sentenced two defendants to death after convicting them of a homicide and causing grievous hurt to a person in the Bobuwela area in 2006.

The individuals sentenced to death are **Asanka Pradeep Kumara** and **Kalutarage Ashoka**, both residents of Chittawalgodella, Bobuwela.

The person killed in this incident was a 26-year-old married man named **Suranga Indrajith Dissanayake**, a resident of the Bobuwela area.

It was revealed that on or around the 24th of May 2006, while the deceased and his friend were travelling on a motorcycle, the suspects, who were lying in wait, struck the pillion rider on the back with the flat side of a sword. Once he fell, the rider stopped the motorcycle, at which point the suspects hacked the rider's hand and head with the sword, committing the murder, and also slashed the pillion rider's leg, causing serious injuries.

The two suspects had been arrested by the Dodangoda Police and produced before court.

The police stated that the main suspect, who was released on bail by the High Court about a year and a half after the incident, had worked as a three-wheeler driver.

The police added that information has emerged revealing that one of the defendants in this case, which was trial-examined for a lengthy period of about twenty years, is currently overseas.

The court ordered the Inspector General of Police, the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, and the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration to arrest this suspect and execute the sentence.

The court also issued an order to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration to arrest this suspect and hand him over to the Commissioner General of Prisons if he enters or leaves the country through any airport in Sri Lanka.

It has also been revealed that the main suspect in this incident is a brother of the deceased person's wife at the time, and that the murder was committed over a personal dispute.