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Advanced level student duped by sex attacker and killed
A 20-year-old student was killed by an alleged sex attacker days before she sat next week’s Advanced Level examination. She fell prey to a trap set by her attacker. He had sought her help to reunite with his ‘girlfriend’.
Her body was found in a hotel room in Melsiripura (between Kurunegala and Galewela) last Tuesday. Investigations led by Gokarella Police Chief Lasantha Buddhika and Crime Division Chief Lalith Chandrasiri revealed that the student had been strangled. When the police went to the crime scene, they found the fan was operating at high speed and the TV on full volume. They also recovered a mobile phone which enabled them to obtain several clues.
Police traced the car in which the girl had arrived at the hotel with a youth. The car belongs to a temple in the area. Investigation revealed that the youth had stolen the car and more than Rs. 150,000 from the temple.
Tracing the telephone calls, police found the youth was from Ibbagamuwa. But he was not in the house, when a police team went there. But before long, on Tuesday night, the youth surrendered to the Gokarella police.
During interrogation, the youth told police that he was in love with a garment factory worker, who, however, did not want to continue the affair.
To show that he was a man of means, he stole the temple’s car and the money. The youth had been a monk for three months. After he left the order, the chief priest had permitted him to stay in the temple.
Driving the stolen car, he had then gone to meet the girl and tried to convince her that he was now rich enough to marry her. But the girl was not convinced. However, she had got into the car and agreed to go with him to the town. On the way, the youth showed her the money in the vehicle’s cabbie hole and sought her consent to marry her but she rejected his proposal. To escape from him, the girl took the money and threw it out of the car.
When the youth stopped the car to pick the money, the girl escaped, but she left her mobile phone in the car. Together with a friend, she had gone to the Polpiithigama police and reported the matter.
The youth told the police officers that after this incident, he tried to call her but there was no response. He then tried the other numbers in the girl’s phone to find out her whereabouts. This was how he made contacts with the advanced level girl. He sought her help to reunite with his girlfriend.
The girl had agreed to meet him the following day. When they met, the youth had told her that his girlfriend was waiting for them at a hotel in Melsiripura and they could meet her there.
The girl did not realise she was being trapped. When she went to the hotel room, the youth tried to sexually abuse her. He told police that when the girl resisted his advances, he increased the TV volume, put the fan on high speed and strangled her. The suspect identified as Kasun Pradeepa was produced at the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court and remanded till August 8.