By A.J.A. Abeynayake

Colombo Chief Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya yesterday rejected the bail applications of the wife and father-in-law of MP Rishad Bathiudeen.

When the bail applications of Bathiudeen’s wife Ayesha Shiabdeen and her father, Mohamed Shiabdeen, were submitted as a motion, were taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Jayasuriya yesterday, the defence counsel informed the court that the two children of the female suspect was under the custody of her mother, who was currently ailing with COVID-19.

The defence counsel requested the court to release the two suspects considering that they had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 yet.

Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris appearing for the investigating officers objected to granting bail to Mohamed Shiabdeen and requested the court to deliver an appropriate decision on Ayesha Shiabdeen’s bail application.

Considering all submissions, the Chief Magistrate rejected the bail applications of both suspects.

On July 15 the 16-year-old girl, who was serving as a domestic help at the Bathiudeen residence, succumbed to severe burn injuries while receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. She had been under medical care for 12 days since her admission to the hospital on July 03.

Jude Kumar Ishalini, who was from the Dayagama area, was 15 years of age when she was brought to the parliamentarian’s residence at Bauddhaloka Mawatha for domestic work last October.

The judicial medical officer who conducted the post-mortem on the girl’s death concluded that she had been sexually abused.

The former minister’s wife, father-in-law, and the middleman in question were taken into custody on July 23 based on the testimonies recorded from nearly 20 individuals, autopsy results, and the evidence gathered by the investigating officers which pointed to the fact that the deceased girl was subjected to abuse.

In addition, the 44-year-old brother-in-law of MP Bathiudeen was also taken into custody and produced before the Judicial Medical Officer for allegedly sexually abusing a young woman who worked as a domestic helper at the lawmaker’s official residence from 2015 to 2019.

Ishalini’s remains were exhumed on July 30 for a second postmortem by a court-appointed specialist medical team.

On Aug 23, MP Rishad Bathiudeen, who is currently under remand custody over a different case, was named the fifth suspect in this case.