News in Brief

Police produced eight suspects before the Kandy Magistrate who remanded them for allegedly causing a false bomb alarm on Friday at the Kandy Goods Shed Bus terminus.

The police on a tip-off that a bomb had been planted at the Goods Shed Bus Stand had conducted a cordon and search operation.

After an unfruitful search, Police took twenty persons into custody out of which eight were produced before the Kandy Magistrate who remanded them.

Twelve others were released on Police bail and ordered to appear before the Police if they are wanted. The operation was under Kandy Division SP K.D.C. Karunaratne with Acting Headquarters Chief Inspector Nipul Dehigama. Police have strengthened security in the area with more patrols.

DNA tests are likely to be held on the skeletal remains found at Urulawatte, alleged to be that of a CTB employee Tillekeratne who went missing six years ago from the Dalugala Police area. A suspect G.B. Weerakon has been remanded by Additional Magistrate Ms P. Ranasinghe.

The remains were found after the body was exhumed on a Court Order on a tip-off to SI Ranga Bandara of Daulagala Police
A suspect G.B. Weerakoon who is a cultivator of a manioc plantation at the time the deceased went missing had been taken into custody. It is alleged that the deceased may have been electrocuted and then buried. Further a large stone had also been found in the pit that was with the remains of the deceased.

It was revealed that there is another suspect Nilame in this case but he had committed suicide after the incident around five years ago. Inspector Tyronne Ratnayake with Sub-Inspector Ranga Bandara are conducting further inquiries.

A team of officers lead by Chief Inspector Nilantha Bandara of the Kandy Central Vice Squad detected 265 packets of heroin from Mahaiyawa in Kandy last Sunday. Another suspect was found with one packet in the same raid.

Meanwhile a woman and man in a joint operation who had been allegedly defrauding banks in various parts of the country by presenting 'plated gold' as sovereign gold jewellery for pawning were nabbed by Hasalaka Police on a tip-off. The couple are alleged to have tried to defraud the People's Bank at Hasalaka.The man is a Sinhalese and the woman a Muslim who are living together and they are jointly operating this racket. According to Chief Inspector Nalaka Senanayake Officer in Charge of Hasalaka Police, said that after they sent messages to various Stations, they have had a feed back that the couple is wanted at various Police stations for the same type of offence. The man and woman were produced before the Magistrate at Mahiyangana and remanded. Chief Inspector Nalaka Senanayake is continuing inquires.

Requests made by residents of about 20 villages in the Maskeliya electorate for a bridge over the Kehelgamuwa Oya to Ginigathhena town, which was highlighted in the Kandy Times has borne fruit at last. The Kandy Times revealed that the requests made 50 years ago and the repeated requests made over the last 30 years to Gamini Dissanayake and later to Mr. Fowzie who was then Minister for Highways, had gone unheard causing inconvenience to around 30,000 villagers.

The SLFP organiser for Maskeliya W.G. Ranasinghe brought the situation to the attention of the Up-country Development Authority Chairman S.M.B. Samarakoon and work has started on the construction of a bridge.

Villagers are grateful to The Kandy Times for having highlighted the grievance of the peasants. The new bridge is 11 ft in height and 15’4” wide and needs four pillars 11 ft in height. The bridge will cause a 20 ft valley at the Horakada end and another five foot valley at the other end according to villagers. The four pillars are being constructed now and the villagers say they are too low to avoid the flood waters during the rainy season.

This matter has been brought to the notice of senior lecturer Mr. Dissanayake, an engineer attached to the Peradeniya campus who planned the structure. They request that the pillars be made higher.

The convocation ceremony of the University of Peradeniya for 2006 will be held at its indoor stadium on March 8. The convocation will be held in two segments with one ceremony starting at 9.00 am and the other at 3.00 pm. The chief guest will be Chancellor of the University R.K.W. Gunasekera and the Vice-Chancellor Harischandra Abeygunawardena.A total of 2,851 students will graduate this year with 158 from the Agriculture faculty, 123 from the Dental faculty, 68 from the Veterinary Science faculty, 345 from the Medical faculty, 424 from the Engineering faculty while 491 students will get their postgraduate degrees.

Professor G.P. Wannigama and Professor K.A.A.S. Warnakulasuirya will receive special Honours degrees.

Bomb hoax suspects remanded