Lorry driver arrested over Rs.800,000 worth school textbooks sold as scrap

Thalangama Police said that a lorry driver was arrested for selling a stock of textbooks and activity books worth around 800,000 rupees, to a scrap buyer without delivering them to distribution centres.

These books were allocated for Grade 1 Tamil medium students in schools of the Eastern Province.

Interrogations of the arrested suspect revealed that this stock of 19,892 books was sold at a weight of 1,600 kilograms, at a value of Rs.47,000.

This stock of books was handed over to an institution in Siyambalape, Biyagama on May 24, by the Department of Educational Publications for distribution to 12 centres in the Eastern Province.

However, Jagath Wanniharachchi, Eastern Province officer in charge of the publications division of the Education Department, informed the Department of Educational Publications on August 07 that the centres in the Eastern Province have not received the stock of books as scheduled.

Accordingly, investigations were launched based on a complaint lodged with the Thalangama Police on August 12 by N. W. D. Hiroshi Gunawardena, Commissioner (Production and Distribution) of the Department of Educational Publications.

According to investigations conducted by the police, the suspect driver was arrested at his home located in Kudamapitigama, Dompe, and interrogations revealed that he had taken the stock of books received on May 24 to his home in Dompe and stored them.

Subsequently, a few days later, the suspect confessed to police that he sold the books to a lorry that arrived to collect old newspapers and plastic, for an amount of 47,000 rupees.

There, the person who purchased the relevant books sold them to an old newspaper and paper grinding institution located in Peliyagoda, and when investigative teams visited and inspected the relevant institution, it was revealed that the stock of books was ground and exported to India a few days later.

Statements were recorded from around six individuals regarding the incident so far, and the arrested 31-year-old suspect is to be presented before the Kaduwela Magistrate's Court.