Doctor further remanded over Borella All Saints’ Church incident

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court yesterday further remanded a retired doctor and two other suspects who were arrested in connection with the discovery of a live grenade at the All Saints’ Church in Borella until 14 March.

Retired Dr. Shirley Herath, who was remanded recently, was not produced before court when the case was taken before Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya.

However, the two suspects Liyanage Dayasena and Ruwansiri Hemachandra, who were detained by the Police on detention orders, were produced before court by the Colombo Crimes Division.

State Counsel Hans Abeyratne, appearing before the court on behalf of the Colombo Crimes Division, informed the court that it has been decided not to take further action against the suspects under the Prevention of Terrorism Act but further investigations are being carried out against them under the Offensive Weapons Act and the Penal Code.

In addition to this incident, further investigations are being carried out on these suspects regarding the discovery of bombs at two other places and Information on how one bomb was found has not yet been revealed, the Counsel informed the court.

The State Counsel further stated that further investigations are being carried out into the manner in which the suspects had been in contact through telephone calls and requested that the suspects be remanded. Thereafter, Attorney-at-Law Chaminda Athukorala appearing for the suspect, Dr. Shirley Herath, thanked the prosecution for its decision not to act against his client under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

“Under Section 115 of the Criminal Procedure Code, there must be clear evidence before the court to remand this suspect. The bomb involved in this incident was not found in the possession of my client or anywhere under his control. According to him, the bomb was not found by the Police. 

“No Government Analyst’s report has been released so far confirming that the substance found by the Police was a bomb. In that case, even if a suspect has made a statement against my client under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, it cannot be applied against him,” said Attorney-at-Law Chaminda Athukorala. He also asked the court to release him.

The lawyers who appeared for the other suspects also made the same request.

Considering the submissions from both sides, the Magistrate remanded the suspects till 14 March. The Magistrate granted a request made by Attorney-at-Law Chaminda Athukorala on behalf of the suspect Dr. Shirley Herath and informed the Superintendent of Prisons to take steps to provide the suspect with the necessary medical facilities at the remand prison.