Friend kills friend for assaulting his pet dog

A 52-year-old gem miner and father of two, was killed by another gem miner who had pushed his head into a mud hole because he had assaulted the latter's dog, in Horana, on Sunday night, police said.

The incident had occurred during a liquor party, when the victim had attacked a pet dog which belonged to the suspect. After a heated argument, the suspect had attacked the victim and pushed his head into a nearby mud-filled gem pit.

Afterwards, the suspect had gone to the gem pit owner and requested money to go to his home town. However, the owner had come to know that the suspect had killed the victim and, with the help of the people of the area, had caught the suspect and handed him over to the Police. (Bimal Shyaman Jayasinghe)