More details have emerged regarding the murder of a female physiotherapist. The suspects, including the officer-in-charge of the Kundasala Police Training College, were produced before the Nuwara Eliya Magistrate’s Court yesterday (26) on charges of aiding and abetting the main suspect in the incident and have been remanded until the 9th. The body of a woman was recovered from an abandoned car in the Theldeniya area by the Theldeniya Police on the 17th. The deceased was later identified as Shimaya Darshani, a 34-year-old woman who worked as a female physiotherapist at the Ampara Hospital. Investigations were conducted based on information received about her alleged boyfriend. The main suspect, along with his wife and child, were arrested by the Central Anti-Corruption Unit in Valanai, Jaffna. A Kundasala Pradeshiya Sabha employee was also arrested on charges of aiding them. They were then detained for 48 hours and questioned. During this time, it was revealed that the officer-in-charge of the Kundasala Police Training College had helped the main suspect hide. The police officer was introduced to the main suspect through the Pradeshiya Sabha employee. The morning after the murder (April 17), the main suspect and the Pradeshiya Sabha employee met the officer in front of the Kundasala Police Training College. At that time, the Pradeshiya Sabha employee said, “Sir, this is my friend. He has a dead body. It is the body of a woman he used to know. He is asking what to do with it.” In response, the police officer said, “Take it to a hospital near here and dump it.” Accordingly, they dumped the body near the Theldeniya Hospital and escaped. Later, when they had gone to the Digana area, the officer who arrived there in a police jeep said, “I will show you a lawyer, don’t be afraid and hide.” When he met the officer again on the morning of the 18th, he said, “Hide until the autopsy report says it was suicide.” He also contacted an officer from the Nuwara Eliya Police Crime Investigation Division and asked for details. The officer said that an open verdict had been given on the death. The police officer then took 10,000 rupees from the main suspect and went with the Pradeshiya Sabha employee to buy alcohol. After drinking alcohol, he also bought a bottle of yogurt and honey from a supermarket for his needs with the remaining money. He also said, “The lawyer who was appearing for you was the temporary magistrate during the autopsy. Don’t be afraid, I will take care of it. My wife has a neurological disease, help her with that too.” The main suspect, who left from there, visited Jaffna three times within 7 days before his arrest. He was arrested on the third occasion. During the investigation, the main suspect stated that the woman had committed suicide by hanging herself from the window curtain rod when he went to the room. However, the autopsy confirmed that she had been strangled to death. Since the window curtain rod is not strong enough to support the weight of a human body, the police suspect that the suspect is lying to divert the investigation. Meanwhile, the main suspect's wife has also been arrested on charges of concealing the death. The Magistrate has ordered that the suspect's child be remanded in the custody of the mother. Further investigations are being conducted under the guidance of Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Central Province, Lalith Pathinayake, and under the advice of Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of the Nuwara Eliya Region, Samarakoon Bandara.
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