Naval officer remanded over abductions

The executive officer of the Welisara Navy Hospital was remanded till January 26, by Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne yesterday, in connection with the abduction and disappearance of two persons from Kotahena eight years ago.

The suspect is Lieutenant Commander Mapa Mudiyanselage Dhammika Anila Mapa. He had been attached to the Navy Intelligence Wing in 2009 when the incident occurred.

He was arrested by the CID under section 296 of the penal code.

He has been charged with the abduction of Vaduveli Pakkilasamy Loganathan and Ratnasamy Paramanandan in 2009 and their enforced disappearance.

A complaint regarding this incident had been lodged with the CID by Loganatha Chitradevi of Kotahena on January 8, 2016.

She had said that her husband Vaduveli Pakkilasamy Loganathan and his cousin Ratnasamy Paramanandan, then employed by the Colombo Municipal Council, had set out for Wellampitiya in a van on January 11, 2009, and had not been seen since then.

The CID informed Court that when they were investigating the disappearance of 11 persons at the Welisara Camp after obtaining a court order, they had taken into custody 72 parts of a van -- including one with the chasis number of the van the missing men were travelling in at the time of their disappearance.

CID informed Court in its B report that the suspect was taken into custody after his statement was recorded and investigations were conducted.(Hirangi Abeywickrema)