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Secret agency smuggles out 2000 Lankans
By Nalaka Nonis
While people-smuggling ships have been detected in the south, the CID has busted a massive international people-smuggling racket with forged documents, including passports, embassy visas seals and a teledrama actress allegedly directing operations from behind.

The racket came to light when the CID arrested three persons from Nugegoda area in connection with a triple murder committed about two years ago in Boralesgamuwa. The seized items included 35 passports, 22 visa documents, five embossed seals, 29 Shengen visas, 400 rubber seals used by the Immigration and Emigration departments around the world, 36 embassy seals, two computers, a monitor, a laser computer printer, a laminating machine, a photocopier, a repeater gun and a revolver.

Detectives told The Sunday Times that they found evidence that the racketeers had smuggled out about 2000 people to various countries, including Italy, Britain, Germany, Japan and the UAE, using these forged documents. They also found evidence that even foreign currency was being forged.

They said the items had been recovered from the Nugegoda and Meegoda houses of the suspects. CID Sub Inspector Meril Ranjan said foreign missions were being alerted to this racket and Interpol would be called in to track down a few more suspects in other countries.

He said the CID believed a teledrama actress was behind the racket. The three suspects were produced before the Gangodawila Magistrate yesterday and remanded.

Oversight committees run into snags
Moves by the government to set up oversight committees in parliament as a step towards consensus politics appear to have run into trouble with the opposition objecting on several grounds.

Public Accounts Committee Chairman Anura Priyadharshana Yapa has written to Constitutional Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris suggesting that instead of bringing various amendments to standing orders for the creation of these committees as a means of strengthening Parliament, the government should look at bringing in a new constitution.

He said the proposed oversight committees were in line with the congressional committees in the USA but this system was not appropriate for a country like Sri Lanka.

Chief opposition Whip Mangala Samaraweera said the motive behind the creation of these committees seemed to be to diminish the executive authority of the President more than the government's claim of wanting consensus politics.

The government has announced the creation of 14 sectoral committees that are meant to give a greater role to the opposition in Parliament. The government has also said that an opposition member will head all the committees. However, Mr. Samaraweera said the opposition member to head the committee would be chosen by the government side as they would have more members in these committees.

Lost-and-found girl may need therapy
By Faraza Farook
Parents of an eight-year-old child who was lost and found have been advised to show the girl to a counsellor before getting her medically examined to identify possible physical or sexual abuse.

The girl kidnapped at the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital premises on Thursday morning by a mystery woman was found at Dehiwela the following day. Her parents were directed to take the child to the Kalubowila Hospital for medical examination to establish if she has been subject to any abuse, but the girl had been reluctant to let herself be examined.

"She was resisting any form of examination. So the JMO has advised that we show her to a psychologist on Monday as she may be disturbed after what had taken place," her mother Priyanthi said.

In a state of shock and despair, Priyanthi who was travelling in a bus on Friday morning around 6.45 to inform authorities of the school where her daughter studied about the missing child was only too relieved to find her daughter walking up Hill Street, Dehiwela.

Relating the appalling incident at the hospital, Priyanthi said she went to make a payment to the cashier leaving her daughter with her handbag in the waiting hall. "When I returned, she was missing. I searched all over, including in the toilet and after an exhaustive search, I informed the hospital police post.

Priyanthi called her mobile phone number as she had left it in the handbag with her daughter, but somebody had switched it off. "I tried again hoping my daughter would pick up the phone, but it was switched off," she said.

Both Priyanthi and her husband then made a complaint to the Mirihana Police and remained in the hospital premises till night hoping they would find the girl, but to no avail.

Priyanthi took her daughter to the police after she found her at Dehiwela. On inquiry the girl had stated that she was approached by a woman who had claimed she came to take her home as her mother, Priyanthi had left. "My daughter had been shown a white van and told I was seated inside it," Priyanthi recalled.

"All my daughter could remember was that she travelled for a long time with her mouth and eyes tied. However, she had seen the Kalutara Maha Bodhi, but thereafter, she had been unconscious."

When the girl woke up, she found herself seated in a chair. On hearing a news announcement of a missing child at the hospital, the girl had repeatedly inquired from the woman why she was brought and where her mother was, but had received no reply. Around 3.45 p.m. the same day, the mystery woman had picked out a phone number from the mother's diary and called an aunt of the girl to tell her that the girl was safe.

"The woman had then inquired about our family - if I was working and what my husband did. My daughter had told her I was ill. She had then asked my daughter whether she could find her way home if she was left somewhere and my daughter had asked to be left at Dehiwela as she was familiar with the area. The following morning, the girl had been left at Dehiwela," Priyanthi said.

Uditha seems to have recovered from all that had happened, but still doesn't want to be subject to medical examination. Police are still investigating into the incident.

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