News

Police scour CCTV footage in strategic locations in a bid to find decapitated woman’s head

Published

5 years ago

2021/03/14

By Norman Palihawadana

Police have begun checking CCTV footage in other areas to find out where the policeman had thrown the head of the woman he decapitated and also whether any others had helped him to carry out the grisly killing at Hanwella, police officials said.

The headless body of the woman was found inside a travelling bag at Dam Street.

“We are scouring CCTV images in certain strategic locations to gather more information on the movements of the sub inspector implicated in the killing of the woman at a guest house in Hanwella”, they said.

Meanwhile, the funeral of the woman identified as Dilini Yasodha Jayasundara took place at the Theppanawa public cemetery at Kuruwita on March 10.

The victim’s body was released following identification after her DNA matched samples taken from her mother and brother.

Her body was placed in the police morgue until Additional Government Analyst, D. H. L. W. Jayamanne completed the DNA examination. Thereafter, the body was handed over to her relatives on the night of March 9 to be taken to her hometown of Theppanawa in Kuruwita.

Thirty-year-old Thilini Yasodhara was unmarried and lived with her mother, who was a person with special needs, a brother, who was a local politician and an elderly female relative. Her father had died many years ago.

She was not employed and devoted most of her time to painting and social work. She had developed a love affair with the police officer at the time she did some temporary work in the political office of parliamentarian Heshan Vithana. The policemen, S. M. Premasiri (52), a sergeant at the time, served in the security contingent of the MP.

The romance had continued despite the transfer of her partner to serve as a security officer to then Minister Harin Fernando. Subsequently, the policeman was transferred to Buttala police station, close to his hometown of Badalkumbura, where he received a promotion and served as a sub inspector.

Police believe that the suspect policeman may have killed the woman after she continued to insist that they get married. Perhaps, she was unaware that he was a married man with two children.

He had killed the woman inside a guest house room at Hanwella, which the couple had occupied overnight. A woman employee of the guest house had seen him leaving with a travelling bag the previous morning and thought his companion may have left earlier.

Police said that thanks to CCTV footage, they were able to retrace his journey from Hanwella to Colombo in a private bus and later dumping the bag at Dam Street. The decapitated body of the woman was later found by police on being alerted by traders in the vicinity.

A day after the gruesome find in Pettah, a bag belonging to the woman was found at Hanwella. An identity card from a youth camp and an address in Kuruwita were among the contents.

Police investigators were also able to trace the guest house the couple had booked into on the evening of February 28, the day before the woman’s body was found in Pettah. The visitors’ book had revealed Premasiri’s identity and the area he lived in.

When the police closed in on him, Premasiri had escaped to a jungle area near his house at Badalkumbura and committed suicide. His body was later found hanging from a tree. A bottle of poison was also found nearby.

In a suicide note, he had apologized to his wife and two children for the shame over what happened and urged them to be brave and face the future despite whatever obstacles they would have to face He had also asked his family to go ahead with the preparations for his mother’s alms-giving.

All News Advertisement

Latest News

INS Udaygiri departs Colombo concluding formal visit

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/11

Priyan

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Udaygiri departed the Port of Colombo today, 11 September 2026, following the successful completion of a four day official visit.

On her departure, the Sri Lanka Navy bade farewell to the ship in accordance with time-honoured naval traditions.

During the visit, naval personnel from both navies engaged in joint initiatives to strengthen bilateral ties. These included a friendly volleyball match, a beach cleanup along the Galle Face
promenade, and a training exercise on Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) conducted by the Sri Lanka Navy Special Boat Squadron (SBS).

As part of the visit, the Indian Navy handed over a consignment of spares and supplies to the Sri Lanka Navy. Visiting crew members also toured key tourist attractions in and around Colombo.

Official interactions of this nature aim to enhance cooperation and knowledge-sharing between the two maritime forces, supporting joint responses to evolving regional maritime challenges.

News

President meets representatives from Sri Lanka Scout Association

Published

7 hours ago

2026/09/11

Priyan

A meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and representatives of the Sri Lanka Scout Association was held at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday (10) afternoon .

The President was briefed on the 11th National Scout Jamboree, scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in January 2027, as well as the current status and progress of its organisational arrangements.

The official logo of the National Scout Jamboree was also presented to the President and officially unveiled on the occasion.

Views were also exchanged on the programmes currently being implemented by the Sri Lanka Scout Association and its future plans.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised the importance of expanding the Scout Movement to more schools and the contribution that the Scout Movement can make to the Government’s programmes to combat drugs.

President’s Senior Additional Secretary Roshan Gamage; Chief Scout Commissioner, Attorney-at-Law Manoj Nanayakkara; President of the Sri Lanka Scout Association Ransiri Perera; Deputy Chief Scout Commissioner (Acting) Kapila Perera; Chairman of the Executive Committee Kamalnath Jinadasa; and Jamboree Co-Organising Commissioner, Engineer Amil Abeysundara, were among the senior representatives of the Sri Lanka Scout Association who attended the occasion.

[President’s Media Division]

News

Meeting between Catholic religious leaders and President

Published

8 hours ago

2026/09/11

Priyan

A meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Catholic religious leaders, led by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, was held at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday (10).

Special attention was given to the Government’s programme to strengthen coexistence, peace and reconciliation among all communities in the country and to ensure national unity by preventing any form of racist or religiously motivated hate activity.

The progress of investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks was also discussed.

Lengthy discussions were held on measures that could be taken to prevent environmental damage and destruction affecting the lives of the people.

The Catholic religious leaders commended the measures taken by the Government to safeguard trust among all communities and expressed their fullest support for these efforts.

The issues faced by Catholic communities, including infrastructure development in areas where Catholic people reside, as well as measures that should be taken to address these issues, were also discussed at length.

Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini, Rev. Fr. Julian Patrick and other priests, as well as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs Muneer Mulaffer, President’s Senior Additional Secretary Roshan Gamage and others, were also present at the meeting.

President’s Media Division (PMD)