14 August 2023 11:23 am
Six individuals, including two women, have been arrested in connection with the murder of a man in Kopai, who was accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl.
The Kopai Police initiated an investigation after receiving information about the fatal beating of a 52-year-old man at a residence in Kopai on Saturday.
Following the investigations, police arrested two women aged 28 and 42, as well as four male suspects ranging in age from 16 to 38.
One of the female suspects admitted to assaulting the victim alongside another woman, after learning from her 9-year-old daughter about the alleged sexual abuse. Police said the girl was reported to have been sexually assaulted the day before the man was murdered.
Reportedly, the girl's mother informed her brother about the abuse, leading him and another individual to assault the accused after taking him away on a motorcycle.
They subsequently tied the victim's legs, drowned him in a well, and then brought his body back to his residence in a three-wheeler.
Police said the two individuals who provided the motorcycle and three-wheeler too were arrested for aiding and abetting the murder.
The girl, who is the alleged victim of sexual abuse, is to undergo a medical examination.
Meanwhile, the suspects arrested in connection with the murder are to produce before the Jaffna Magistrate's Court.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)