The blind owner and eight other female employees of a physiotherapy massage centre in Kollupitiya which engages in the practice of physiotherapy since 1958 were yesterday acquitted and released by a Colombo Court from the allegations that they managed a brothel under the guise of a massage parlour in 2011.

While ordering to acquit and release all the accused from the case, Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage observed that the Kollupitiya police had wrongfully carried out a raid even without deploying a decoy and finally maintained that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.  

Nawaratna Banda (83) the owner of the Rathna Ayurvedic Massage centre at the Adams Avenue in Kollupitiya was a blind since his childhood. While giving evidence as a defence witness he had told Court that his institution which engages in the practice of physiotherapy since 1958. He said he was a blind since his childhood and learnt about physiotherapy at the Blind School in Ratmalana in 1948. He said that his massage centre was a registered company under the Company Act and tendered the original certificate of it before Court.  

The defence witness had further said that on or around August 10, 2011 the Kollupitiya police raided his massage centre even without showing them a search warrant issued by a Court and arrested eight women employees on false charges. He further informed Court that his centre was famous among the middle class and reputed persons including the politicians. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)