Murderer sentenced in absentia arrested after 35 years on the run

• Convict Colambage Saratchandra Sumanasekara alias Nandana Sumanasekara had hacked to death an Engineer of the Ceylon Electricity Board Dr. Waduarachchige Amarasiri over a family dispute

By Buddhika Kumarasiri   

A person convicted of murder has been found and taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after absconding court for 35 years.   Court proceedings went on in his absence , and he was sentenced to death in an ex parte judgement in his absence in 2019 . He was arrested in a raid at Pugoda yesterday by the Criminal Investigation Department(CID) . 

The Murder and Organised Crime Investigation Unit of the CID had carried out the raid on intelligence received by Sergeant 70701 Samapath.   

 Convict Colambage Saratchandra Sumanasekara alias Nandana Sumanasekara had hacked to death an Engineer of the Ceylon Electricity Board Dr. Waduarachchige Amarasiri over a family dispute involving the convict’s wife, He had cut the body into pieces and dumped it in a secret location. He had been a security officer of a private sector institution at that time.   

 He had murdered the victim who had called over at a house in Welipillewa at Athurugiriya as requested by him and his wife.   

 His wife, an accomplice, had been sentenced to death in the ex parte trial, had been arrested earlier by the CID and remanded pending her appeal against the conviction.   

 Police said the convict had been using a forged identity card and a birth certificate in the name of a dead man.   
SI Piyal, Sergeant 40947 Gamage, 85151 Madawala, and 70701 Sampath are conducting further investigations.   
After being arrested, he was produced before court and remanded till April 24.