| The father of the toddler who was kidnapped in Mundel for ransom, thanked the police for their quick action that led to the girl’s safe return.
Police had acted promptly when the child was reported missing. The man had originally demanded a ransom of five million rupees but the police told the child’s mother to plead with the kidnapper to reduce it.
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| Sarathchandra Suwasthika: Taken away from school |
The anguish of a father who rushed back to the country on hearing
about the ordeal |
The police then identified the kidnapper, located his whereabouts and obtained his telephone number from a shop frequented by the man.
Plainclothes policemen apprehended the kidnapper when they accompanied the child’s mother to Chilaw to drop off the Rs.1.5 million ransom money.
The kidnapper changed the destination once to Bangadeniya and again to Arachchikattuwa. When confronted by Police, the man, a relative of the girl, had attempted to escape but was stopped by the police. “I just could not believe when my wife said that my daughter has been kidnapped. I rushed back to the country upon hearing the news,” said Sarathchandra, the child’s father, who was employed in Italy.
His daughter, Sarathchandra Suwasthika, had been taken from her pre-school in Mundel in a three-wheeler last Wednesday by a man claiming to be her uncle. The man told the Principal of the school that the girl’s grandmother was seriously ill and he had been sent to pick up the child.
When the child did not return home at the usual time, her mother had phoned the school only to be told that her uncle had picked her up. The mother immediately realized that something was amiss and informed the police.
The child was admitted to the school last month and was taken to and from school every day in a three-wheeler, while her mother stayed at home with her younger sibling.
Investigations revealed that the 22 year-old man, had planned the kidnapping together with his mistress, aged 45, as she was having financial difficulties. The woman identified as Sumithra Kumari from Panunuwa, had accompanied the kidnapper to Chilaw to collect the ransom money. She told the police that they were both employed in a security firm in Katunayake.
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| The suspect couple |
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| The mother and child at the police station |
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